Assessment item generator

ABSTRACT

Techniques described herein relate to generating new assessment items and updating existing assessment items. Input data may be received corresponding to the addition, removal, or modification of assessment components within assessment items, and may cause immediate generation and validation of corresponding markup language data blocks, thereby allowing for interactive construction and automated encoding of assessment items. Additional techniques described herein relate to determining compatible scoring types for assessment items and generating and embedding markup language data blocks corresponding to assessment item scoring data.

CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.14/860,323, filed Sep. 21, 2015, and entitled “ASSESSMENT ITEMGENERATOR,” the entire contents of which are incorporated herein byreference for all purposes.

BACKGROUND

Certain content distribution networks and systems may be configured togenerate and provide content resources such as assessment items to userdevices using various different techniques. Assessment items may includedata objects that encapsulate representations of interactive componentsand/or corresponding responses to the interactive components. Eachassessment item may include one more assessment components, each ofwhich may be a simple or complex assessment component. Such assessmentcomponents include, for example, text input assessment components,multiple choice assessment components, mathematical equation assessmentcomponents, item matching assessment components, and other various typesof assessment components. Assessment item data objects also may definevalid and correct responses associated with their respective assessmentcomponents, within their various data structures, data types, and dataformats. In some cases, multi-part assessment items may definedependencies and other interrelations between the assessment componentswhich determine the functionality and/or scoring of the individualassessment components within the assessment item.

BRIEF SUMMARY

Various techniques (e.g., systems, methods, computer-program productstangibly embodied in a non-transitory machine-readable storage medium,etc.) are described herein for generating new assessment items andupdating existing assessment items based on the addition, removal, ormodification of assessment components within assessment items. In someembodiments, requests may be received via client devices to generate newassessment items and/or update existing assessment items. An assessmentitem generator may retrieve shell markup language data blockscorresponding to the requested assessment item. One or more assessmentcomponents may be added, modified, or removed based on input receivedfrom the client devices via programmatic or graphical interfaces, andthe assessment item generator may generate markup language data blockscorresponding to the new or updated assessment components. In somecases, markup language data blocks corresponding to new or updatedassessment components may be embedded at one or more locations withinthe assessment item shell, and the markup language data block for theassessment item may be validated, rendered to client devices, and/orsaved in an assessment item data store.

Additional techniques described herein relate to generating andembedding markup language data blocks corresponding to assessment itemscoring data. In some embodiments, modifications may be received for newor existing assessment components within an assessment item. Based onthe requested modifications, an assessment item generator may determineone or more compatible scoring types (or scoring methods) for theupdated assessment item. An assessment item scoring interface may beprovided based on the compatible scoring types, and scoring data may bereceived via the scoring interface. Using the received scoring data theassessment item generator may generate markup language data blockscorresponding to the assessment item scoring data, and embed the scoringdata at various locations within the assessment item shell.Additionally, in some cases, markup language data blocks for updatedassessment items may be validated, rendered to client devices, and/orsaved in assessment item data stores.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing illustrating an example of a contentdistribution network.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a computer server and computingenvironment within a content distribution network.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an embodiment of one or more datastore servers within a content distribution network.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating an embodiment of one or morecontent management servers within a content distribution network.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating the physical and logicalcomponents of a special-purpose computer device within a contentdistribution network.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating an example system including anassessment item generator and a plurality of client devices, accordingto one or more embodiments of the disclosure.

FIG. 7 is a flow diagram illustrating an example process of generating anew assessment item and/or updating an existing assessment item,according to one or more embodiments of the disclosure.

FIGS. 8A-8F and 9A-9O illustrate example output from an assessment itemgenerator in connection with generating new assessment items and/orupdating existing assessment items, according to one or more embodimentsof the disclosure.

FIG. 10 is a flow diagram illustrating an example process of generatingand embedding markup language data blocks corresponding to scoring datafor assessment items, according to one or more embodiments of thedisclosure.

FIGS. 11A-11K illustrate example output from an assessment itemgenerator in connection with generating scoring data for assessmentitems, according to one or more embodiments of the disclosure.

In the appended figures, similar components and/or features may have thesame reference label. Further, various compo of the same type may bedistinguished by following the reference label by a dash and a secondlabel that distinguishes among the similar components. If only the firstreference label is used in the specification, the description isapplicable to any one of the similar components having the same firstreference label irrespective of the second reference label.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The ensuing description provides illustrative embodiment(s) only and isnot intended to limit the scope, applicability or configuration of thedisclosure. Rather, the ensuing description of the illustrativeembodiment(s) will provide those skilled in the art with an enablingdescription for implementing a preferred exemplary embodiment. It isunderstood that various changes can be made in the function andarrangement of elements without departing from the spirit and scope asset forth in the appended claims.

Various techniques (e.g., systems, methods, computer-program productstangibly embodied in a non-transitory machine-readable storage medium,etc.) are described herein for generating new assessment items andupdating existing assessment items based on the addition, removal, ormodification of assessment components within assessment items. In someembodiments, requests may be received via client devices to generate newassessment items and/or update existing assessment items. An assessmentitem generator may retrieve shell markup language data blockscorresponding to the requested assessment item. One or more assessmentcomponents may be added, modified, or removed based on input receivedfrom the client devices via programmatic or graphical interfaces, andthe assessment item generator may generate markup language data blockscorresponding to the new or updated assessment components. In somecases, markup language data blocks corresponding to new or updatedassessment components may be embedded at one or more locations withinthe assessment item shell, and the markup language data block for theassessment item may be validated, rendered to client devices, and/orsaved in an assessment item data store.

Additional techniques described herein relate to generating andembedding markup language data blocks corresponding to assessment itemscoring data. In some embodiments, modifications may be received for newor existing assessment components within an assessment item. Based onthe requested modifications, an assessment item generator may determineone or more compatible scoring types (or scoring methods) for theupdated assessment item. An assessment item scoring interface may beprovided based on the compatible scoring types, and scoring data may bereceived via the scoring interface. Using the received scoring data theassessment item generator may generate markup language data blockscorresponding to the assessment item scoring data, and embed the scoringdata at various locations within the assessment item shell.Additionally, in some cases, markup language data blocks for updatedassessment items may be validated, rendered to client devices, and/orsaved in assessment item data stores.

With reference now to FIG. 1, a block diagram is shown illustratingvarious components of a content distribution network (CDN) 100 whichimplements and supports certain embodiments and features describedherein. Content distribution network 100 may include one or more contentmanagement servers 102. As discussed below in more detail, contentmanagement servers 102 may be any desired type of server including, forexample, a rack server, a tower server, a miniature server, a bladeserver, a mini rack server, a mobile server, an ultra-dense server, asuper server, or the like, and may include various hardware components,for example, a motherboard, a processing units, memory systems, harddrives, network interfaces, power supplies, etc. Content managementserver 102 may include one or more server farms, clusters, or any otherappropriate arrangement and/or combination or computer servers. Contentmanagement server 102 may act according to stored instructions locatedin a memory subsystem of the server 102, and may run an operatingsystem, including any commercially available server operating systemand/or any other operating systems discussed herein.

The content distribution network 100 may include one or more data storeservers 104, such as database servers and file-based storage systems.Data stores 104 may comprise stored data relevant to the functions ofthe content distribution network 100. Illustrative examples of datastores 104 that may be maintained in certain embodiments of the contentdistribution network 100 are described below in reference to FIG. 3. Insome embodiments, multiple data stores may reside on a single server104, either using the same storage components of server 104 or usingdifferent physical storage components to assure data security andintegrity between data stores. In other embodiments, each data store mayhave a separate dedicated data store server 104.

Content distribution network 100 also may include one or more userdevices 106 and/or supervisor devices 110. User devices 106 andsupervisor devices 110 may display content received via the contentdistribution network 100, and may support various types of userinteractions with the content. User devices 106 and supervisor devices110 may include mobile devices such as smartphones, tablet computers,personal digital assistants, and wearable computing devices. Such mobiledevices may run a variety of mobile operating systems, and may beenabled for Internet, e-mail, short message service (SMS), Bluetooth®,mobile radio-frequency identification (M-RFID), and/or othercommunication protocols. Other user devices 106 and supervisor devices110 may be general purpose personal computers or special-purposecomputing devices including, by way of example, personal computers,laptop computers, workstation computers, projection devices, andinteractive room display systems. Additionally, user devices 106 andsupervisor devices 110 may be any other electronic devices, such asthin-client computers, Internet-enabled gaming systems, business or homeappliances, and/or personal messaging devices, capable of communicatingover network(s) 120.

In different contexts of content distribution networks 100, user devices106 and supervisor devices 110 may correspond to different types ofspecialized devices, for example, student devices and teacher devices inan educational network, employee devices and presentation devices in acompany network, different gaming devices in a gaming network, etc. Insome embodiments, user devices 106 and supervisor devices 110 mayoperate in the same physical location 107, such as a classroom orconference room. In such cases, the devices may contain components thatsupport direct communications with other nearby devices, such as awireless transceivers and wireless communications interfaces, Ethernetsockets or other Local Area Network (LAN) interfaces, etc. In otherimplementations, the user devices 106 and supervisor devices 110 neednot be used at the same location 107, but may be used in remotegeographic locations in which each user device 106 and supervisor device110 may use security features and/or specialized hardware (e.g.,hardware-accelerated SSL and HTTPS, WS-Security, firewalls, etc.) tocommunicate with the content management server 102 and/or other remotelylocated user devices 106. Additionally, different user devices 106 andsupervisor devices 110 may be assigned different designated roles, suchas presenter devices, teacher devices, administrator devices, or thelike, and in such cases the different devices may be provided withadditional hardware and/or software components to provide content andsupport user capabilities not available to the other devices.

The content distribution network 100 also may include a privacy server108 that maintains private user information at the privacy server 108while using applications or services hosted on other servers. Forexample, the privacy server 108 may be used to maintain private data ofa user within one jurisdiction even though the user is accessing anapplication hosted on a server (e.g., the content management server 102)located outside the jurisdiction. In such cases, the privacy server 108may intercept communications between a user device 106 or supervisordevice 110 and other devices that include private user information. Theprivacy server 108 may create a token or identifier that does notdisclose the private information and may use the token or identifierwhen communicating with the other servers and systems, instead of usingthe user's private information.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, the content management server 102 may be incommunication with one or more additional servers, such as a contentserver 112, a user data server 112, and/or an administrator server 116.Each of these servers may include some or all of the same physical andlogical components as the content management server(s) 102, and in somecases, the hardware and software components of these servers 112-116 maybe incorporated into the content management server(s) 102, rather thanbeing implemented as separate computer servers.

Content server 112 may include hardware and software components togenerate, store, and maintain the content resources for distribution touser devices 106 and other devices in the network 100. For example, incontent distribution networks 100 used for professional training andeducational purposes, content server 112 may include data stores oftraining materials, presentations, interactive programs and simulations,course models, course outlines, and various training interfaces thatcorrespond to different materials and/or different types of user devices106. In content distribution networks 100 used for media distribution,interactive gaming, and the like, a content server 112 may include mediacontent files such as music, movies, television programming, games, andadvertisements.

User data server 114 may include hardware and software components thatstore and process data for multiple users relating to each user'sactivities and usage of the content distribution network 100. Forexample, the content management server 102 may record and track eachuser's system usage, including their user device 106, content resourcesaccessed, and interactions with other user devices 106. This data may bestored and processed by the user data server 114, to support usertracking and analysis features. For instance, in the professionaltraining and educational contexts, the user data server 114 may storeand analyze each user's training materials viewed, presentationsattended, courses completed, interactions, evaluation results, and thelike. The user data server 114 may also include a repository foruser-generated material, such as evaluations and tests completed byusers, and documents and assignments prepared by users. In the contextof media distribution and interactive gaming, the user data server 114may store and process resource access data for multiple users (e.g.,content titles accessed, access times, data usage amounts, gaminghistories, user devices and device types, etc.).

Administrator server 116 may include hardware and software components toinitiate various administrative functions at the content managementserver 102 and other components within the content distribution network100. For example, the administrator server 116 may monitor device statusand performance for the various servers, data stores, and/or userdevices 106 in the content distribution network 100. When necessary, theadministrator server 116 may add or remove devices from the network 100,and perform device maintenance such as providing software updates to thedevices in the network 100. Various administrative tools on theadministrator server 116 may allow authorized users to set user accesspermissions to various content resources, monitor resource usage byusers and devices 106, and perform analyses and generate reports onspecific network users and/or devices (e.g., resource usage trackingreports, training evaluations, etc.).

The content distribution network 100 may include one or morecommunication networks 120. Although only a single network 120 isidentified in FIG. 1, the content distribution network 100 may includeany number of different communication networks between any of thecomputer servers and devices shown in FIG. 1 and/or other devicesdescribed herein. Communication networks 120 may enable communicationbetween the various computing devices, servers, and other components ofthe content distribution network 100. As discussed below, variousimplementations of content distribution networks 100 may employdifferent types of networks 120, for example, computer networks,telecommunications networks, wireless networks, and/or any combinationof these and/or other networks.

With reference to FIG. 2, an illustrative distributed computingenvironment 200 is shown including a computer server 202, four clientcomputing devices 206, and other components that may implement certainembodiments and features described herein. In some embodiments, theserver 202 may correspond to the content management server 102 discussedabove in FIG. 1, and the client computing devices 206 may correspond tothe user devices 106. However, the computing environment 200 illustratedin FIG. 2 may correspond to any other combination of devices and serversconfigured to implement a client-server model or other distributedcomputing architecture.

Client devices 206 may be configured to receive and execute clientapplications over one or more networks 220. Such client applications maybe web browser based applications and/or standalone softwareapplications, such as mobile device applications. Server 202 may becommunicatively coupled with the client devices 206 via one or morecommunication networks 220. Client devices 206 may receive clientapplications from server 202 or from other application providers (e.g.,public or private application stores). Server 202 may be configured torun one or more server software applications or services, for example,web-based or cloud-based services, to support content distribution andinteraction with client devices 206. Users operating client devices 206may in turn utilize one or more client applications (e.g., virtualclient applications) to interact with server 202 to utilize the servicesprovided by these components.

Various different subsystems and/or components 204 may be implemented onserver 202. Users operating the client devices 206 may initiate one ormore client applications to use services provided by these subsystemsand components. The subsystems and components within the server 202 andclient devices 206 may be implemented in hardware, firmware, software,or combinations thereof. Various different system configurations arepossible in different distributed computing systems 200 and contentdistribution networks 100. The embodiment shown in FIG. 2 is thus oneexample of a distributed computing system and is not intended to belimiting.

Although exemplary computing environment 200 is shown with four clientcomputing devices 206, any number of client computing devices may besupported. Other devices, such as specialized sensor devices, etc., mayinteract with client devices 206 and/or server 202.

As shown in FIG. 2, various security and integration components 208 maybe used to send and manage communications between the server 202 anduser devices 206 over one or more communication networks 220. Thesecurity and integration components 208 may include separate servers,such as web servers and/or authentication servers, and/or specializednetworking components, such as firewalls, routers, gateways, loadbalancers, and the like. In some cases, the security and integrationcomponents 208 may correspond to a set of dedicated hardware and/orsoftware operating at the same physical location and under the controlof same entities as server 202. For example, components 208 may includeone or more dedicated web servers and network hardware in a datacenteror a cloud infrastructure. In other examples, the security andintegration components 208 may correspond to separate hardware andsoftware components which may be operated at a separate physicallocation and/or by a separate entity.

Security and integration components 208 may implement various securityfeatures for data transmission and storage, such as authenticating usersand restricting access to unknown or unauthorized users. In variousimplementations, security and integration components 208 may provide,for example, a file-based integration scheme or a service-basedintegration scheme for transmitting data between the various devices inthe content distribution network 100. Security and integrationcomponents 208 also may use secure data transmission protocols and/orencryption for data transfers, for example, File Transfer Protocol(FTP), Secure File Transfer Protocol (SFTP), and/or Pretty Good Privacy(PGP) encryption.

In some embodiments, one or more web services may be implemented withinthe security and integration components 208 and/or elsewhere within thecontent distribution network 100. Such web services, includingcross-domain and/or cross-platform web services, may be developed forenterprise use in accordance with various web service standards, such asRESTful web services (i.e., services based on the Representation StateTransfer (REST) architectural style and constraints), and/or webservices designed in accordance with the Web Service Interoperability(WS-I) guidelines. Some web services may use the Secure Sockets Layer(SSL) or Transport Layer Security (TLS) protocol to provide secureconnections between the server 202 and user devices 206. SSL or TLS mayuse HTTP or HTTPS to provide authentication and confidentiality. Inother examples, web services may be implemented using REST over HTTPSwith the OAuth open standard for authentication, or using theWS-Security standard which provides for secure SOAP messages using XMLencryption. In other examples, the security and integration components208 may include specialized hardware for providing secure web services.For example, security and integration components 208 may include securenetwork appliances having built-in features such as hardware-acceleratedSSL and HTTPS, WS-Security, and firewalls. Such specialized hardware maybe installed and configured in front of any web servers, so that anyexternal devices may communicate directly with the specialized hardware.

Communication network(s) 220 may be any type of network familiar tothose skilled in the art that can support data communications using anyof a variety of commercially-available protocols, including withoutlimitation, TCP/IP (transmission control protocol/Internet protocol),SNA (systems network architecture), IPX (Internet packet exchange),Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) or Transport Layer Security (TLS) protocols,Hyper Text Transfer Protocol (HTTP) and Secure Hyper Text TransferProtocol (HTTPS), Bluetooth®, Near Field Communication (NFC), and thelike. Merely by way of example, network(s) 220 may be local areanetworks (LAN), such as one based on Ethernet, Token-Ring and/or thelike. Network(s) 220 also may be wide-area networks, such as theInternet. Networks 220 may include telecommunication networks such as apublic switched telephone networks (PSTNs), or virtual networks such asan intranet or an extranet. Infrared and wireless networks (e.g., usingthe Institute of Electrical and Electronics (IEEE) 802.11 protocol suiteor other wireless protocols) also may be included in networks 220.

Computing environment 200 also may include one or more data stores 210and/or back-end servers 212. In certain examples, the data stores 210may correspond to data store server(s) 104 discussed above in FIG. 1,and back-end servers 212 may correspond to the various back-end servers112-116. Data stores 210 and servers 212 may reside in the samedatacenter or may operate at a remote location from server 202. In somecases, one or more data stores 210 may reside on a non-transitorystorage medium within the server 202. Other data stores 210 and back-endservers 212 may be remote from server 202 and configured to communicatewith server 202 via one or more networks 220. In certain embodiments,data stores 210 and back-end servers 212 may reside in a storage-areanetwork (SAN), or may use storage-as-a-service (STaaS) architecturalmodel.

With reference to FIG. 3, an illustrative set of data stores and/or datastore servers is shown, corresponding to the data store servers 104 ofthe content distribution network 100 discussed above in FIG. 1. One ormore individual data stores 301-309 may reside in storage on a singlecomputer server 104 (or a single server farm or cluster) under thecontrol of a single entity, or may reside on separate servers operatedby different entities and/or at remote locations. In some embodiments,data stores 301-309 may be accessed by the content management server 102and/or other devices and servers within the network 100 (e.g., userdevices 106, supervisor devices 110, administrator servers 116, etc.).Access to one or more of the data stores 301-309 may be limited ordenied based on the processes, user credentials, and/or devicesattempting to interact with the data store.

The paragraphs below describe examples of specific data stores that maybe implemented within some embodiments of a content distribution network100. It should be understood that the below descriptions of data stores301-309, including their functionality and types of data stored therein,are illustrative and non-limiting. Data stores server architecture,design, and the execution of specific data stores 301-309 may depend onthe context, size, and functional requirements of a content distributionnetwork 100. For example, in content distribution systems 100 used forprofessional training and educational purposes, separate databases orfile-based storage systems may be implemented in data store server(s)104 to store trainee and/or student data, trainer and/or professor data,training module data and content descriptions, training results,evaluation data, and the like. In contrast, in content distributionsystems 100 used for media distribution from content providers tosubscribers, separate data stores may be implemented in data storesserver(s) 104 to store listings of available content titles anddescriptions, content title usage statistics, subscriber profiles,account data, payment data, network usage statistics, etc.

A user profile data store 301 may include information relating to theend users within the content distribution network 100. This informationmay include user characteristics such as the user names, accesscredentials (e.g., logins and passwords), user preferences, andinformation relating to any previous user interactions within thecontent distribution network 100 (e.g., requested content, postedcontent, content modules completed, training scores or evaluations,other associated users, etc.).

An accounts data store 302 may generate and store account data fordifferent users in various roles within the content distribution network100. For example, accounts may be created in an accounts data store 302for individual end users, supervisors, administrator users, and entitiessuch as companies or educational institutions. Account data may includeaccount types, current account status, account characteristics, and anyparameters, limits, restrictions associated with the accounts.

A content library data store 303 may include information describing theindividual content items (or content resources) available via thecontent distribution network 100. In some embodiments, the library datastore 303 may include metadata, properties, and other characteristicsassociated with the content resources stored in the content server 112.Such data may identify one or more aspects or content attributes of theassociated content resources, for example, subject matter, access level,or skill level of the content resources, license attributes of thecontent resources (e.g., any limitations and/or restrictions on thelicensable use and/or distribution of the content resource), priceattributes of the content resources (e.g., a price and/or pricestructure for determining a payment amount for use or distribution ofthe content resource), rating attributes for the content resources(e.g., data indicating the evaluation or effectiveness of the contentresource), and the like. In some embodiments, the library data store 303may be configured to allow updating of content metadata or properties,and to allow the addition and/or removal of information relating to thecontent resources. For example, content relationships may be implementedas graph structures, which may be stored in the library data store 303or in an additional store for use by selection algorithms along with theother metadata.

A pricing data store 304 may include pricing information and/or pricingstructures for determining payment amounts for providing access to thecontent distribution network 100 and/or the individual content resourceswithin the network 100. In some cases, pricing may be determined basedon a user's access to the content distribution network 100, for example,a time-based subscription fee, or pricing based on network usage and. Inother cases, pricing may be tied to specific content resources. Certaincontent resources may have associated pricing information, whereas otherpricing determinations may be based on the resources accessed, theprofiles and/or accounts of the user, and the desired level of access(e.g., duration of access, network speed, etc.). Additionally, thepricing data store 304 may include information relating to compilationpricing for groups of content resources, such as group prices and/orprice structures for groupings of resources.

A license data store 305 may include information relating to licensesand/or licensing of the content resources within the contentdistribution network 100. For example, the license data store 305 mayidentify licenses and licensing terms for individual content resourcesand/or compilations of content resources in the content server 112, therights holders for the content resources, and/or common or large-scaleright holder information such as contact information for rights holdersof content not included in the content server 112.

A content access data store 306 may include access rights and securityinformation for the content distribution network 100 and specificcontent resources. For example, the content access data store 306 mayinclude login information (e.g., user identifiers, logins, passwords,etc.) that can be verified during user login attempts to the network100. The content access data store 306 also may be used to storeassigned user roles and/or user levels of access. For example, a user'saccess level may correspond to the sets of content resources and/or theclient or server applications that the user is permitted to access.Certain users may be permitted or denied access to certain applicationsand resources based on their subscription level, training program,course/grade level, etc. Certain users may have supervisory access overone or more end users, allowing the supervisor to access all or portionsof the end user's content, activities, evaluations, etc. Additionally,certain users may have administrative access over some users and/or someapplications in the content management network 100, allowing such usersto add and remove user accounts, modify user access permissions, performmaintenance updates on software and servers, etc.

A source data store 307 may include information relating to the sourceof the content resources available via the content distribution network.For example, a source data store 307 may identify the authors andoriginating devices of content resources, previous pieces of data and/orgroups of data originating from the same authors or originating devices,and the like.

An evaluation data store 308 may include information used to direct theevaluation of users and content resources in the content managementnetwork 100. In some embodiments, the evaluation data store 308 maycontain, for example, the analysis criteria and the analysis guidelinesfor evaluating users (e.g., trainees/students, gaming users, mediacontent consumers, etc.) and/or for evaluating the content resources inthe network 100. The evaluation data store 308 also may includeinformation relating to evaluation processing tasks, for example, theidentification of users and user devices 106 that have received certaincontent resources or accessed certain applications, the status ofevaluations or evaluation histories for content resources, users, orapplications, and the like. Evaluation criteria may be stored in theevaluation data store 308 including data and/or instructions in the formof one or several electronic rubrics or scoring guides for use in theevaluation of the content, users, or applications. The evaluation datastore 308 also may include past evaluations and/or evaluation analysesfor users, content, and applications, including relative rankings,characterizations, explanations, and the like.

In addition to the illustrative data stores described above, data storeserver(s) 104 (e.g., database servers, file-based storage servers, etc.)may include one or more external data aggregators 309. External dataaggregators 309 may include third-party data sources accessible to thecontent management network 100, but not maintained by the contentmanagement network 100. External data aggregators 309 may include anyelectronic information source relating to the users, content resources,or applications of the content distribution network 100. For example,external data aggregators 309 may be third-party data stores containingdemographic data, education related data, consumer sales data, healthrelated data, and the like. Illustrative external data aggregators 309may include, for example, social networking web servers, public recordsdata stores, learning management systems, educational institutionservers, business servers, consumer sales data stores, medical recorddata stores, etc. Data retrieved from various external data aggregators309 may be used to verify and update user account information, suggestuser content, and perform user and content evaluations.

With reference now to FIG. 4, a block diagram is shown illustrating anembodiment of one or more content management servers 102 within acontent distribution network 100. As discussed above, content managementserver(s) 102 may include various server hardware and softwarecomponents that manage the content resources within the contentdistribution network 100 and provide interactive and adaptive content tousers on various user devices 106. For example, content managementserver(s) 102 may provide instructions to and receive information fromthe other devices within the content distribution network 100, in orderto manage and transmit content resources, user data, and server orclient applications executing within the network 100.

A content management server 102 may include a content customizationsystem 402. The content customization system 402 may be implementedusing dedicated hardware within the content distribution network 100(e.g., a content customization server 402), or using designated hardwareand software resources within a shared content management server 102. Insome embodiments, the content customization system 402 may adjust theselection and adaptive capabilities of content resources to match theneeds and desires of the users receiving the content. For example, thecontent customization system 402 may query various data stores andservers 104 to retrieve user information, such as user preferences andcharacteristics (e.g., from a user profile data store 301), user accessrestrictions to content recourses (e.g., from a content access datastore 306), previous user results and content evaluations (e.g., from anevaluation data store 308), and the like. Based on the retrievedinformation from data stores 104 and other data sources, the contentcustomization system 402 may modify content resources for individualusers.

A content management server 102 also may include a user managementsystem 404. The user management system 404 may be implemented usingdedicated hardware within the content distribution network 100 (e.g., auser management server 404), or using designated hardware and softwareresources within a shared content management server 102. In someembodiments, the user management system 404 may monitor the progress ofusers through various types of content resources and groups, such asmedia compilations, courses or curriculums in training or educationalcontexts, interactive gaming environments, and the like. For example,the user management system 404 may query one or more databases and/ordata store servers 104 to retrieve user data such as associated contentcompilations or programs, content completion status, user goals,results, and the like.

A content management server 102 also may include an evaluation system406. The evaluation system 406 may be implemented using dedicatedhardware within the content distribution network 100 (e.g., anevaluation server 406), or using designated hardware and softwareresources within a shared content management server 102. The evaluationsystem 406 may be configured to receive and analyze information fromuser devices 106. For example, various ratings of content resourcessubmitted by users may be compiled and analyzed, and then stored in adata store (e.g., a content library data store 303 and/or evaluationdata store 308) associated with the content. In some embodiments, theevaluation server 406 may analyze the information to determine theeffectiveness or appropriateness of content resources with, for example,a subject matter, an age group, a skill level, or the like. In someembodiments, the evaluation system 406 may provide updates to thecontent customization system 402 or the user management system 404, withthe attributes of one or more content resources or groups of resourceswithin the network 100. The evaluation system 406 also may receive andanalyze user evaluation data from user devices 106, supervisor devices110, and administrator servers 116, etc. For instance, evaluation system406 may receive, aggregate, and analyze user evaluation data fordifferent types of users (e.g., end users, supervisors, administrators,etc.) in different contexts (e.g., media consumer ratings, trainee orstudent comprehension levels, teacher effectiveness levels, gamer skilllevels, etc.).

A content management server 102 also may include a content deliverysystem 408. The content delivery system 408 may be implemented usingdedicated hardware within the content distribution network 100 (e.g., acontent delivery server 408), or using designated hardware and softwareresources within a shared content management server 102. The contentdelivery system 408 may receive content resources from the contentcustomization system 402 and/or from the user management system 404, andprovide the resources to user devices 106. The content delivery system408 may determine the appropriate presentation format for the contentresources based on the user characteristics and preferences, and/or thedevice capabilities of user devices 106. If needed, the content deliverysystem 408 may convert the content resources to the appropriatepresentation format and/or compress the content before transmission. Insome embodiments, the content delivery system 408 may also determine theappropriate transmission media and communication protocols fortransmission of the content resources.

In some embodiments, the content delivery system 408 may includespecialized security and integration hardware 410, along withcorresponding software components to implement the appropriate securityfeatures content transmission and storage, to provide the supportednetwork and client access models, and to support the performance andscalability requirements of the network 100. The security andintegration layer 410 may include some or all of the security andintegration components 208 discussed above in FIG. 2, and may controlthe transmission of content resources and other data, as well as thereceipt of requests and content interactions, to and from the userdevices 106, supervisor devices 110, administrative servers 116, andother devices in the network 100.

With reference now to FIG. 5, a block diagram of an illustrativecomputer system is shown. The system 500 may correspond to any of thecomputing devices or servers of the content distribution network 100described above, or any other computing devices described herein. Inthis example, computer system 500 includes processing units 504 thatcommunicate with a number of peripheral subsystems via a bus subsystem502. These peripheral subsystems include, for example, a storagesubsystem 510, an I/O subsystem 526, and a communications subsystem 532.

Bus subsystem 502 provides a mechanism for letting the variouscomponents and subsystems of computer system 500 communicate with eachother as intended. Although bus subsystem 502 is shown schematically asa single bus, alternative embodiments of the bus subsystem may utilizemultiple buses. Bus subsystem 502 may be any of several types of busstructures including a memory bus or memory controller, a peripheralbus, and a local bus using any of a variety of bus architectures. Sucharchitectures may include, for example, an Industry StandardArchitecture (ISA) bus, Micro Channel Architecture (MCA) bus, EnhancedISA (EISA) bus, Video Electronics Standards Association (VESA) localbus, and Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) bus, which can beimplemented as a Mezzanine bus manufactured to the IEEE P1386.1standard.

Processing unit 504, which may be implemented as one or more integratedcircuits (e.g., a conventional microprocessor or microcontroller),controls the operation of computer system 500. One or more processors,including single core and/or multicore processors, may be included inprocessing unit 504. As shown in the figure, processing unit 504 may beimplemented as one or more independent processing units 506 and/or 508with single or multicore processors and processor caches included ineach processing unit. In other embodiments, processing unit 504 may alsobe implemented as a quad-core processing unit or larger multicoredesigns (e.g., hexa-core processors, octo-core processors, ten-coreprocessors, or greater.

Processing unit 504 may execute a variety of software processes embodiedin program code, and may maintain multiple concurrently executingprograms or processes. At any given time, some or all of the programcode to be executed can be resident in processor(s) 504 and/or instorage subsystem 510. In some embodiments, computer system 500 mayinclude one or more specialized processors, such as digital signalprocessors (DSPs), outboard processors, graphics processors,application-specific processors, and/or the like.

I/O subsystem 526 may include device controllers 528 for one or moreuser interface input devices and/or user interface output devices 530.User interface input and output devices 530 may be integral with thecomputer system 500 (e.g., integrated audio/video systems, and/ortouchscreen displays), or may be separate peripheral devices which areattachable/detachable from the computer system 500.

Input devices 530 may include a keyboard, pointing devices such as amouse or trackball, a touchpad or touch screen incorporated into adisplay, a scroll wheel, a click wheel, a dial, a button, a switch, akeypad, audio input devices with voice command recognition systems,microphones, and other types of input devices. Input devices 530 mayalso include three dimensional (3D) mice, joysticks or pointing sticks,gamepads and graphic tablets, and audio/visual devices such as speakers,digital cameras, digital camcorders, portable media players, webcams,image scanners, fingerprint scanners, barcode reader 3D scanners, 3Dprinters, laser rangefinders, and eye gaze tracking devices. Additionalinput devices 530 may include, for example, motion sensing and/orgesture recognition devices that enable users to control and interactwith an input device through a natural user interface using gestures andspoken commands, eye gesture recognition devices that detect eyeactivity from users and transform the eye gestures as input into aninput device, voice recognition sensing devices that enable users tointeract with voice recognition systems through voice commands, medicalimaging input devices, MIDI keyboards, digital musical instruments, andthe like.

Output devices 530 may include one or more display subsystems, indicatorlights, or non-visual displays such as audio output devices, etc.Display subsystems may include, for example, cathode ray tube (CRT)displays, flat-panel devices, such as those using a liquid crystaldisplay (LCD) or plasma display, light-emitting diode (LED) displays,projection devices, touch screens, and the like. In general, use of theterm “output device” is intended to include all possible types ofdevices and mechanisms for outputting information from computer system500 to a user or other computer. For example, output devices 530 mayinclude, without limitation, a variety of display devices that visuallyconvey text, graphics and audio/video information such as monitors,printers, speakers, headphones, automotive navigation systems, plotters,voice output devices, and modems.

Computer system 500 may comprise one or more storage subsystems 510,comprising hardware and software components used for storing data andprogram instructions, such as system memory 518 and computer-readablestorage media 516. The system memory 518 and/or computer-readablestorage media 516 may store program instructions that are loadable andexecutable on processing units 504, as well as data generated during theexecution of these programs.

Depending on the configuration and type of computer system 500, systemmemory 318 may be stored in volatile memory (such as random accessmemory (RAM) 512) and/or in non-volatile storage drives 514 (such asread-only memory (ROM), flash memory, etc.) The RAM 512 may contain dataand/or program modules that are immediately accessible to and/orpresently being operated and executed by processing units 504. In someimplementations, system memory 518 may include multiple different typesof memory, such as static random access memory (SRAM) or dynamic randomaccess memory (DRAM). In some implementations, a basic input/outputsystem (BIOS), containing the basic routines that help to transferinformation between elements within computer system 500, such as duringstart-up, may typically be stored in the non-volatile storage drives514. By way of example, and not limitation, system memory 518 mayinclude application programs 520, such as client applications, Webbrowsers, mid-tier applications, server applications, etc., program data522, and an operating system 524.

Storage subsystem 510 also may provide one or more tangiblecomputer-readable storage media 516 for storing the basic programmingand data constructs that provide the functionality of some embodiments.Software (programs, code modules, instructions) that when executed by aprocessor provide the functionality described herein may be stored instorage subsystem 510. These software modules or instructions may beexecuted by processing units 504. Storage subsystem 510 may also providea repository for storing data used in accordance with the presentinvention.

Storage subsystem 300 may also include a computer-readable storage mediareader that can further be connected to computer-readable storage media516. Together and, optionally, in combination with system memory 518,computer-readable storage media 516 may comprehensively representremote, local, fixed, and/or removable storage devices plus storagemedia for temporarily and/or more permanently containing, storing,transmitting, and retrieving computer-readable information.

Computer-readable storage media 516 containing program code, or portionsof program code, may include any appropriate media known or used in theart, including storage media and communication media, such as but notlimited to, volatile and non-volatile, removable and non-removable mediaimplemented in any method or technology for storage and/or transmissionof information. This can include tangible computer-readable storagemedia such as RAM, ROM, electronically erasable programmable ROM(EEPROM), flash memory or other memory technology, CD-ROM, digitalversatile disk (DVD), or other optical storage, magnetic cassettes,magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices,or other tangible computer readable media. This can also includenontangible computer-readable media, such as data signals, datatransmissions, or any other medium which can be used to transmit thedesired information and which can be accessed by computer system 500.

By way of example, computer-readable storage media 516 may include ahard disk drive that reads from or writes to non-removable, nonvolatilemagnetic media, a magnetic disk drive that reads from or writes to aremovable, nonvolatile magnetic disk, and an optical disk drive thatreads from or writes to a removable, nonvolatile optical disk such as aCD ROM, DVD, and Blu-Ray® disk, or other optical media.Computer-readable storage media 516 may include, but is not limited to,Zip® drives, flash memory cards, universal serial bus (USB) flashdrives, secure digital (SD) cards, DVD disks, digital video tape, andthe like. Computer-readable storage media 516 may also include,solid-state drives (SSD) based on non-volatile memory such asflash-memory based SSDs, enterprise flash drives, solid state ROM, andthe like, SSDs based on volatile memory such as solid state RAM, dynamicRAM, static RAM, DRAM-based SSDs, magnetoresistive RAM (MRAM) SSDs, andhybrid SSDs that use a combination of DRAM and flash memory based SSDs.The disk drives and their associated computer-readable media may providenon-volatile storage of computer-readable instructions, data structures,program modules, and other data for computer system 500.

Communications subsystem 532 may provide a communication interface fromcomputer system 500 and external computing devices via one or morecommunication networks, including local area networks (LANs), wide areanetworks (WANs) (e.g., the Internet), and various wirelesstelecommunications networks. As illustrated in FIG. 5, thecommunications subsystem 532 may include, for example, one or morenetwork interface controllers (NICs) 534, such as Ethernet cards,Asynchronous Transfer Mode NICs, Token Ring NICs, and the like, as wellas one or more wireless communications interfaces 536, such as wirelessnetwork interface controllers (WNICs), wireless network adapters, andthe like. Additionally and/or alternatively, the communicationssubsystem 532 may include one or more modems (telephone, satellite,cable, ISDN), synchronous or asynchronous digital subscriber line (DSL)units, FireWire® interfaces, USB® interfaces, and the like.Communications subsystem 536 also may include radio frequency (RF)transceiver components for accessing wireless voice and/or data networks(e.g., using cellular telephone technology, advanced data networktechnology, such as 3G, 4G or EDGE (enhanced data rates for globalevolution), WiFi (IEEE 802.11 family standards, or other mobilecommunication technologies, or any combination thereof), globalpositioning system (GPS) receiver components, and/or other components.

The various physical components of the communications subsystem 532 maybe detachable components coupled to the computer system 500 via acomputer network, a FireWire® bus, or the like, and/or may be physicallyintegrated onto a motherboard of the computer system 500. Communicationssubsystem 532 also may be implemented in whole or in part by software.

In some embodiments, communications subsystem 532 may also receive inputcommunication in the form of structured and/or unstructured data feeds,event streams, event updates, and the like, on behalf of one or moreusers who may use or access computer system 500. For example,communications subsystem 532 may be configured to receive data feeds inreal-time from users of social networks and/or other communicationservices, web feeds such as Rich Site Summary (RSS) feeds, and/orreal-time updates from one or more third party information sources(e.g., data aggregators 309). Additionally, communications subsystem 532may be configured to receive data in the form of continuous datastreams, which may include event streams of real-time events and/orevent updates (e.g., sensor data applications, financial tickers,network performance measuring tools, clickstream analysis tools,automobile traffic monitoring, etc.). Communications subsystem 532 mayoutput such structured and/or unstructured data feeds, event streams,event updates, and the like to one or more data stores 104 that may bein communication with one or more streaming data source computerscoupled to computer system 500.

Due to the ever-changing nature of computers and networks, thedescription of computer system 500 depicted in the figure is intendedonly as a specific example. Many other configurations having more orfewer components than the system depicted in the figure are possible.For example, customized hardware might also be used and/or particularelements might be implemented in hardware, firmware, software, or acombination. Further, connection to other computing devices, such asnetwork input/output devices, may be employed. Based on the disclosureand teachings provided herein, a person of ordinary skill in the artwill appreciate other ways and/or methods to implement the variousembodiments.

With reference now to FIG. 6, a block diagram is shown illustrating anexample of an assessment item generator system 600. As shown in thisexample, an assessment item generator system 600 may include one or moreclient devices 610 configured to communicate with an assessment itemgenerator 620. As discussed below, assessment item generator 620 may beconfigured to construct and encode assessment items having one or moreassessment components, including defining, encoding, and validatingvarious types of interrelated assessment components and correspondingscoring logic for the assessment items. Client devices 610 may beconfigured to receive user input/output corresponding to definitions ofassessment item definitions, specifications, and scoring logic, defineand execute scoring logic for the assessment items, and provide variousdynamic interfaces to receive assessment item data and outputrepresentations of assessment items and related data objects. As usedherein, assessment items may refer to data objects encapsulatingrepresentations of interactive components and/or corresponding responsesto the interactive components. For example, assessment items maycorrespond to question data objects and/or test data objects, where suchdata objects may define a number of questions (and/or otherresponsive/interactive components) to be presented to a user. In somecases, the assessment item data objects also may define one or morevalid and/or correct responses to the questions, along with a scoringdata and logic to allow the user's responses to be evaluated andquantified. Assessment items may be generated using various differentdata structures, data types, and data formats. For instance, the IMSGlobal Learning Consortium, Inc. has published a number of Question &Test Interoperability (QTI) specifications for assessment items. TheseQTI specifications, along with other various standards for representingassessment items, may describe data models for representing questiondata and test data, along with and their corresponding results reports.Thus, the QTI specifications and other assessment items standards mayenable the transmission of assessments items between various computingsystems (e.g., authoring tools at client devices 610, assessment itemdata stores 640, question/test constructional tools, electronic learningsystems and assessment delivery systems, and the like). Data modelsdefined by the QTI specifications may be used in various embodimentsdescribed herein, in which QTI-compliant eXtensible Markup Language(XML) may be generated by the assessment item generator 620. In someembodiments, use of QTI-compliant specification for generating, storing,and exchanging assessment items may support both interoperability andinnovation through the provision of well-defined extension points whichmay be used wrap specialized data.

In some embodiments, assessment item generator systems 600 may beintegrated within, or configured to operate in collaboration with, oneor more content distribution networks 100. For example, system 600 maybe the same as, or may operate within or in collaboration with, any ofthe content distribution network (CDNs) 100 described above. Thus,specific examples of assessment item generator systems 600 may include,without limitation, educational and professional training systems andnetworks, interactive gaming systems and networks, media distributionsystems and networks, and enterprise application systems and networks,websites and other Internet-based systems and networks. Accordingly, inthe various different implementations of assessment item generatorsystems 600 as (or integrated into) CDNs 100, assessment items maycorrespond to test items or examination question items (e.g., ineducational and professional training CDNs 100), evaluation or surveyitems (e.g., in enterprise applications or online Internet-based CDNs100), or product/media feedback items (e.g., in interactive gaming ormedia distribution CDNs 100), etc.

In some cases, assessment item generators 620 may be implemented withinone or more content management servers 102 and/or other CDN servers,assessment item publishers 630 and assessment item data stores 640 maybe implemented within one or more content servers 112, and/or data storeservers 104, and client devices 610 may correspond to the user devices106 and 110 described above in reference to CDN 100. Thus, withinassessment item generator system 600 (which may also be referred to asCDN 600 when describing certain embodiments), client devices 610 mayinteract with an assessment item generator 620 to construct, retrieve,and modify assessment items using the hardware and software componentsof the user devices 610 and/or assessment item generator 620, and storedata objects corresponding to the assessment items in one or moreassessment item data stores 640 (e.g., data store servers 104, contentservers 112). In other examples, an assessment item generator 620 may beimplemented using one or more computer servers, and other specializedhardware and software components, separately from any other CDNcomponents such as content servers 112, content management servers 102,data store servers 104, and the like. In these examples, the assessmentitem generator 620 may be configured to communicate directly with clientdevices 610, or indirectly through content management servers 102 and/orother components and communications networks of the CDN 600.

In order to perform these features and other functionality describedherein, each of the components and sub-components discussed in theexample assessment item generator system 600 may correspond to a singlecomputer server or a complex computing system including a combination ofcomputing devices, storage devices, network components, etc. Each ofthese components and their respective subcomponents may be implementedin hardware, software, or a combination thereof. Certain client devices610 may communicate directly with the assessment item generator 620,while other client devices 610 may communicate with the assessment itemgenerator 620 indirectly via one or more intermediary network components(e.g., routers, gateways, firewalls, etc.) or other devices (e.g.,content management servers 102, content servers 112, etc.). Although thephysical network components have not been shown in this example so asnot to obscure the other elements depicted in the figure, it should beunderstood that any of the network hardware components and networkarchitecture designs may be implemented in various embodiments tosupport communication between the servers and devices in the system 600.Additionally, different client devices 610 may use different networksand networks types to communicate with the assessment item generator620, including one or more telecommunications networks, cable networks,satellite networks, cellular networks and other wireless networks, andcomputer-based IP networks, and the like. Further, certain componentswithin assessment item generator system 600 may include special purposehardware devices and/or special purpose software, such as those includedin I/O subsystems 611 and client application memory 614 of the clientdevices 610, as well as those within the processing engines within thememory 624 of the assessment item generator 620, and XML assessmentcomponent libraries 625 and XML scoring model libraries 626 associatedwith the assessment item generator 620, discussed below.

As discussed below, system 600 and other embodiments described hereinmay be used to generate new assessment items, retrieve and updateexisting assessment items, generate encoding of assessment componentrelationships and assessment item scoring logic, validate and publishassessment items, and perform other assessment item functionalitydescribed herein. In various embodiments, assessment items may include asingle simple or complex assessment component, or may include multipleassessment components. As discussed in more detail below, assessmentcomponents refer to individual questions or other responsive/interactiveuser interface components within an assessment items. Assessment itemshaving multiple assessment components may be referred to as multi-partitems and may represent, for example, multi-part questions or tests, orother groupings of related assessment components. In some cases,multi-part assessment items may define dependencies and otherinterrelations between the assessment components which determine thefunctionality and/or scoring of the individual assessment componentswithin the item.

Although this functionality may be described below in terms of aclient-server model, such the example assessment item generator system600, it should be understood that other computing environments andvarious combinations of servers and devices may be used to perform thefunctionality described herein in other examples. For instance, althoughthe generation of new assessment items, retrieval and updating ofexisting assessment items, and other features described below, may beperformed by a web server (e.g., assessment item generator 620) incollaboration with a client application (e.g., web browser) executing onclient devices 610, in other cases these techniques may be performedentirely by a specialized assessment item generator 620, or entirely byan authoring tool executing on a client device 610. In other examples, aclient-server model may be used as shown in system 600, but differentfunctional components and processing tasks may be allocated to theclient-side or the sever-side in different embodiments. Additionally,the assessment item publisher 630, assessment data store, and/or the XMLlibraries 625-626 may be implemented as separate servers or storagesystems in some cases, and may use independent hardware and softwareservice components. However, in other implementations, some or all ofthe assessment item publisher 630, assessment data store, and/or the XMLlibraries 625-626 may be incorporated into the assessment item generator620 and/or client devices 610.

Client devices 610 may include desktop or laptop computers, smartphones,tablet computers, and other various types of computing devices, each ofwhich may include some or all of the hardware, software, and networkingcomponents discussed above. Specifically, a client device 610 may be anycomputing device with sufficient processing components, memory andsoftware components, and I/O system components for interacting withusers and with the assessment item generator 620 to define and constructassessment items. Accordingly, client devices 610 may include thenecessary hardware and software components to establish the networkinterfaces, security and authentication capabilities, and capabilitiesfor assessment item storage, validation, and testing. In this example,client devices 610 each include an I/O subsystem 611, network interfacecontroller 612, a processing unit 613, a memory 614 configured tooperate client software applications. Client device 610 may beconfigured to receive and execute various programmatic and graphicalinterfaces to define, construct, validate, and store assessment itemshaving various types of assessment components and defined scoringfunctionality. Accordingly, each I/O subsystem 611 may include hardwareand software components to support a specific set of output capabilities(e.g., LCD display screen characteristics, screen size, color display,video driver, speakers, audio driver, graphics processor and drivers,etc.), and a specific set of input capabilities (e.g., keyboard, mouse,touchscreen, voice control, cameras, facial recognition, gesturerecognition, etc.). Different client devices 610 may support differentinput and output capabilities within their I/O subsystems 611, and thusdifferent types of interactions with assessment items/components may becompatible or incompatible with certain client devices 610. For example,certain types of assessment components may require specific types ofprocessors, graphics components, network components, or I/O componentsin order to be optimally designed and constructed using a client device610. In some embodiments, users may establish user-specific preferencesfor constructing and generating specific types of assessment componentsand assessment items on specific types of client devices 210.Additionally, as shown in this example, the memory 614 of client devices610 may include web browser software having browser-native support forJavaScript Object Notation (JSON). As discussed below, JSON data objectsmay be generated and stored within the browser memory, and used toimplement the scoring logic for assessment items.

In some embodiments, the assessment item generator 620 may generate andprovide the software interfaces (e.g., via a web-based application orother programmatic or graphical interface techniques) used by the clientdevice 610 to define and construct assessment items. In response toreceiving inputs from a client device 610 corresponding to assessmentitems, assessment components, scoring types, etc., the assessment itemgenerator 620 may generate, validate, and store the underlying dataobjects representing the assessment items. As shown in this example,assessment item generator 620 also may establish communication sessionswith additional servers, storage libraries, and other computing devices610, such as XML libraries 625-626 for assessment items and scoringtemplates, assessment item publisher 630, and/or assessment item datastore 640. In other to perform the tasks described herein, assessmentitem generators 620 and/or assessment item publishers 630 may includecomponents such as network interface controllers 622, processing units623, and memory 624 configured to store server software, handleauthentication and security, and store/retrieve assessment items fromdata stores 640. The assessment item generator 620, assessment itempublisher 630, and assessment item data store 640, may be implemented asseparate software (and/or storage) components within a single computerserver 620 in some examples, while in other examples may be implementedas separate computer servers/systems having separate dedicatedprocessing units, storage devices, and/or network components.

Referring now to FIG. 7, a flow diagram is shown illustrating a processof generating a new assessment item and/or updating an existingassessment item. As described below, the steps in this process may beperformed by one or more components in the assessment item generatorsystem 600 described above. For example, each of the steps 701-710 maybe described below in terms of the assessment item generator 620.However, in other examples, some or all of the steps 701-710 describedbelow may be performed on the client side at one or more client devices610. In still other examples, certain features described below in may beperformed by an assessment item publisher 630 and/or assessment itemdata store 640. It should also be understood that the various featuresand processes described herein, including receiving input data viaprogrammatic or graphical interfaces, and generating data correspondingto assessment components and assessment items need not be limited to thespecific systems and hardware implementations described above in FIGS.1-6.

In step 701, a request may be received to generate a new assessment itemor update an existing assessment item within an assessment item datastore 640. In some embodiments, assessment item generator 620 mayprovide one or more interfaces to client devices 610 from which usersmay initiate requests in step 710. In some cases, the assessment itemgenerator 620 may provide interfaces in the form of web pages, web-basedapplications, and other graphical interface applications accessible toclient devices 610. For instance, the request in step 701 may bereceived via a graphical assessment item authoring tool executing on thegenerator server 620 and/or client devices 610. Additionally oralternatively, the assessment item generator 620 may expose programmaticinterfaces (e.g., API's) which client software 614 may invoke toinitiate the generation of a new assessment item or updating of anexisting assessment item.

In step 702, in response to the request to generate or update anassessment item received in step 701, assessment item generator 620 mayeither generate a new assessment item data object (e.g., for a newassessment item), or retrieve the stored data object(s) correspondingthe requested assessment item (e.g., for an existing assessment item).As noted above, assessment item data stores 640, which may beimplemented within the assessment item generator 620 or on a separateserver/storage system (e.g., content server 112) may contain a libraryof the existing assessment items that have been created, validated,and/or deployed within the system 600/CDN 100.

In some embodiments, the data object(s) generated or retrieved in step702 may correspond to shell markup language data blocks. For example, asnoted above, assessment items may be stored as QTI-compliant eXtensibleMarkup Language (XML) data objects, although other standards and datastructures may be used as well for generating and storing assessmentitems. By way of introduction only, a brief description will now beprovided of the high-level structure of QTI assessment items, along withcertain QTI classes (which may correspond to XML elements inQTI-compliant XML) that may appear in the examples subsequentlydiscussed herein. It should be understood that this brief description isincomplete and including for introductory purposes only. Thus, in somecases, the data objects generated and/or retrieved in step 702 maycorrespond with the brief description described below, although thishigh-level description is illustrative only and need not apply for allQTI-compliant assessment items.

For assessment items complying with the QTI specification, eachassessment item may be stored as a data object including several nestedclass objects represented by XML elements. For instance, the“assessmentItem” class, represented by an “assessmentItem” XML elementis the high-level object that encompasses all of the information to bepresented to users (e.g., question data, response/interactivecomponents, and other content), as well as the information defining howto score the assessment item. The “assessmentItem” class/XML element maycontain several subclasses/sub-elements, including an “itemBody”class/XML element, one or more “responseDeclaration” classes/XMLelements, one or more “outcomeDeclaration” classes/XML elements, a“templateDeclaration” class/XML element, and/or a “responseProcessing”class/XML element. The “itemBody” class/XML element contains dataobjects describing all of the content and structure of the assessmentitem, such as text, graphics, media objects and assessment components(which also may be referred to herein as “interactions”). The itemBodyof an assessment item may be presented by combining the itemBody XMLelement with stylesheet information. The “responseDeclaration” classcontains declarations of response variables which are bound toassessment components (or “interactions”) within the itemBody. The“outcomeDeclaration” class may contain declarations of outcomevariables. The “templateDeclaration” class may contain declarations ofitem variables used specifically for cloning items, and may be referredto within the itemBody for cloned items. The “responseProcessing” classmay contain data defining how the values of response variables arescored, and how the values of item outcomes are assigned.

In step 703, the assessment item generator 620 may receive a selectionof a new assessment component to be added to assessment item generatedor retrieved in step 702. Assessment components may include testquestions, user feedback interfaces, or any other user interfacecomponent designed to receive input or illicit a user response. Variousdifferent types of assessment components may be supported in differentembodiments, including but not limited to text input assessmentcomponents, multiple choice assessment components, mathematical equationassessment components, item matching assessment components, etc. ForQTI-compliant assessment items, assessment components may correspond toany QTI “interaction” class/XML element through which users may selector construct a response to a question. Within QTI, each interaction isassociated with one or more response variables.

As discussed above, the assessment item generator 620 may provide one ormore interfaces to client devices 610 through which users may selectassessment components. An example of a web-based graphical interfacethat may be provided by the assessment item generator 620 is shown inFIG. 8A. In this example, a first interface region 810 includes variousdifferent types of assessment components which may selected (e.g., byclicking, dragging-and-dropping, etc.) into a second interface region820 representing the assessment item. A multiple choice assessmentcomponent (e.g., a QTI choice interaction) has been selected and addedto the second interface region 820.

In step 704, the assessment item generator 620 may receive additionalassessment component data relating to the new assessment componentselected in step 703. For example, for the multiple choice assessmentcomponent (e.g., QTI choice interaction) shown in FIG. 8A, the user mayinput the question text, change the number of possible choices, inputanswer text for each choice, identify the correct answer, and the like.For instance, referring to FIG. 8B, an example presentation is shown forthe multiple choice assessment component from region 820 in FIG. 8A, inwhich assessment component data has been input to define the number ofchoices, the text answers for each choice, and the correct answer. Itshould be understood that these examples of assessment component dataare illustrative only and non-limiting, and that different assessmentcomponents types (e.g., any of the QTI interaction classes) may havedifferent sets of subclasses and attributes as assessment componentdata.

In step 705, after the assessment component has been selected in step703 and assessment component data has been received in step 704, theassessment item generator 620 may generate one or more data objectscorresponding to the assessment component. As discussed above, the dataobject(s) generated or retrieved in step 705 may be markup language datablocks, for instance, QTI-compliant XML data blocks. For instance,referring to FIG. 8C, an example markup language data block is shown,QTI-compliant XML in this case, representing the multiple choiceassessment component shown in FIGS. 8A and 8B.

In some embodiments, the assessment item generator 620 may use an XMLgenerator and/or encoder to construct the XML output based on the inputdata received in steps 703 and 704. In some cases, the assessment itemgenerator 620 may maintain an XML template library 625 containing a XMLtemplate corresponding to each different assessment component type(e.g., each different QTI interaction class). In such cases, theassessment item generator 620 may retrieve the appropriate XML templatefrom the library 625 based on the assessment component selected in step703, and then customize that XML template based on the assessmentcomponent data received in step 704.

In step 706, the assessment item generator 620 may determine therelationships between the new assessment component and any existingassessment components within the same assessment item. The relationshipsdetermined in step 706 may correspond to how multiple assessmentcomponents within a single assessment will be visually presented tousers. For example, a newly added assessment component may be presentedbelow, above, or in between the existing assessment components embeddedwithin an assessment item data object. Additionally, certain types ofassessment components may be embedded within the same or other types ofassessment components. In some cases, the graphical interfaces providedby the assessment item generator 620 in steps 703 and 704 may allowusers to define relationships among assessment components, for example,by dragging and dropping assessment components, using up and down arrowsto position assessment components, etc. Programmatic interfaces (e.g.,APIs) also may provide the functionality to client devices 610 to definerelationships between multiple assessment components in an assessmentitem.

In step 707, the data object(s) generated in step 705, corresponding tothe new assessment component, may be embedded within the shell dataobject(s) generated/retrieved in step 702, corresponding to theassessment item as a whole. For example, referring again to the sampleQTI-compliant XML shown in FIG. 8C, the markup language data blockrepresenting the multiple choice assessment component is found fromlines 3 to 37. In other examples, embedding the markup language datablock in step 707 may include embedded several small data blocks (e.g.,individual XML elements, attributes, etc.) rather than one large datablock representing the new assessment component. Additionally, theembedding in step 707 may depend on the relationship between themultiple assessment components determined in step 706. The example shownin FIGS. 8A-8C includes a single multiple choice assessment componentonly, and thus multi-part item relationship determinations areapplicable. However, additional examples involving multi-part assessmentitems are discussed below in reference to FIGS. 9A-9O.

In step 708, the assessment item generator 620 may revise one or moreother markup language data blocks corresponding to the assessmentcomponents existing within the assessment item before the newly embeddedcomponent. In the example shown in FIGS. 8A-8C, only a single assessmentcomponent is represented, and therefore no revision of pre-existingassessment components is necessary. However, as discussed below in moredetail in reference to FIGS. 9A-9O, the addition, removal, ormodification of a one assessment component in an assessment item maynecessitate changes in the data (e.g., markup language data blocks)representing the other assessment components in the assessment item. Asdescribed below, the assessment components within a multi-partassessment item may have dependencies and interrelations that requirerevising other assessment components in response to changing a firstassessment component.

As shown in FIG. 7, after embedding the data for the new assessmentcomponent in step 707 and revising the data for the other assessmentcomponents in step 708, the process may return back to step 703 or 704in some cases. For example, a return to step 703 may indicate that theassessment item generator 620 has received a selection of a second newassessment component to be added to assessment item generated orretrieved in step 702. A return to step 704 may indicate that theassessment item generator 620 has received addition assessment componentdata further modifying the newly added assessment component. Forexample, referring now to FIGS. 8D-8F, an example is shown of amodification to the assessment component represented in FIGS. 8A-8C. Inthis example, a modification has been made via the second interfaceregion 820 in FIG. 8D to add an additional response option (“Choice E”)and to change the designated correct answer to Choice D. FIGS. 8E and 8Frespectively illustrate the graphical presentation view of the updatedassessment component, and the markup language representing the updatedassessment item.

Thus, the process shown in this example may loop back from step 708 tosteps 703 or 704 any number of times, allowing users to construct andmodify assessment items in stages by generating or altering individualassessment components one at a time. Although the example process shownin FIG. 7 only includes adding new assessment components (step 703),similar techniques may be used to allow removal of assessment componentsfrom assessment items. For instance, after an assessment component isremoved steps similar to those described above may be performed,although the markup language data block may be identified and removed insteps 705 and 707 respectively, rather than generated and embedded inthe case of new assessment components. Additional examples ofgenerating, modifying, and removing assessment components from anassessment item are discussed below in reference to FIGS. 9A-9O.

In step 709, the assessment item generator 620 receives data indicatingthat the newly generated or updated assessment item should be saved. Thedata in step 709 may be received from the connected client device 610via the same graphical interface or programmatic interface used by theclient device 610 to initiate steps 701-708 on the generator 620. Forexample, after adding, modifying, and/or removing one or more assessmentcomponents in an assessment item, a user may input data indicating thatthe modification process is completed and that the updated assessmentitem should be saved in an assessment item data store 640. Accordingly,in step 710, the assessment item generator 620 may validate and/or savethe modified assessment item to the assessment item data store 640 orother storage system.

Referring now to FIGS. 9A-9O, additional examples are shown of outputfrom assessment item generator 620 in connection with processes ofgenerating and modifying assessment items. FIGS. 9A-9C show an exampleof generating a single-part assessment item via a graphical interfaceprovided by an assessment item generator 620. FIG. 9A shows an exampleof a web-based graphical interface similar to the interface shown inFIG. 8A. Similarly in this example, FIG. 9A includes a first interfaceregion 910 having various selectable assessment component types, and asecond interface region 920 representing the assessment item. In thisexample, a single mathematical equation editor assessment component 921has been added to the second interface region 920, and thus the currentstate of the assessment item is a single-part item. FIG. 9B is agraphical presentation view of the single-part item represented in FIG.9A. FIG. 9C shows the markup language generated by the assessment itemgenerator 620 in response to the input received via the interface ofFIG. 9A. In the example of QTI-compliant XML shown in FIG. 9C, it isnoted that the markup language data block includes a singleresponseDeclaration element (line 3), a single outcomeDeclarationelement (line 4), and a single variable identifier element (line 14)within the responseProcessing block (lines 12-16).

FIGS. 9D-9F continue the example assessment item generation process ofFIGS. 9A-9C, and show the addition of a second assessment component togenerate a multi-part assessment item. In FIG. 9D, a second assessmentcomponent has been added to second interface region 920, making thecurrent state of the assessment item a multi-part item containing thefirst equation editor assessment component 921 and a second text entryassessment component 922. FIG. 9E is a graphical presentation view ofthe multi-part item represented in FIG. 9D. FIG. 9F shows the markuplanguage generated by the assessment item generator 620 in response tothe input received via the interface of FIG. 9D. In the example ofQTI-compliant XML shown in FIG. 9F, it is noted that the singleresponseDeclaration element in FIG. 9C has been replaced by tworesponseDeclaration elements (lines 3-4), the single outcomeDeclarationelement in FIG. 9C has been replaced by three outcomeDeclarationelements (lines 5-7), and the single variable identifier element in FIG.9C has been replaced by two variable identifier elements within a sumelement (lines 21-24) within the responseProcessing block (lines 19-26).It is also noted that the assessment item generator has renamed certainattributes of these elements (e.g., RESPONSE_A, RESPONSE_B, SCORE_A,SCORE_B) in order to avoid naming conflicts.

FIGS. 9G-9I continue the example assessment item generation process ofFIGS. 9A-9F, and show the modification of the assessment item byswitching the positions of the assessment components in the multi-partassessment item. In FIG. 9G, the same assessment components are shown inthe second interface region 920, but the relationship of the componentshas been changed by moving the text entry assessment component 922 abovethe equation editor assessment component 921 within the interface window920. FIG. 9H is a graphical presentation view of the updated multi-partitem represented in FIG. 9G. FIG. 9I shows the markup language generatedby the assessment item generator 620 in response to the input receivedvia the interface of FIG. 9G. In the example of QTI-compliant XML shownin FIG. 9I, it is noted that the single responseDeclaration elements,the outcomeDeclaration elements, and the responseProcessing element areidentical to those in FIG. 9F, although the itemBody data block (lines8-18) has been modified to reflect the new presentation order of theassessment components.

FIGS. 9J-9L continue the example assessment item generation process ofFIGS. 9A-9I, and show the addition of a third assessment componentwithin the multi-part assessment item. In FIG. 9J, a third assessmentcomponent 923 has been added to second interface region 920, making thecurrent state of the assessment item a multi-part item containing thefirst equation editor assessment component 921 (not shown), the secondtext entry assessment component 922, and a third ordering assessmentcomponent 923. FIG. 9K is a graphical presentation view of themulti-part item represented in FIG. 9J. FIG. 9L shows the markuplanguage generated by the assessment item generator 620 in response tothe input received via the interface of FIG. 9J. In the example ofQTI-compliant XML shown in FIG. 9L, it is noted that the tworesponseDeclaration elements in FIG. 9I have been replaced by threeresponseDeclaration elements (lines 3-9), the three outcomeDeclarationelements in FIG. 9I have been replaced by four outcomeDeclarationelements (lines 10-13), and responseProcessing block (lines 47-69) hasbeen revised to handle scoring of the updated three-part item.

FIGS. 9M-9O continue the example assessment item generation process ofFIGS. 9A-9L, and show the removal of an assessment component 922 fromthe multi-part assessment item. In FIG. 9M, the second text entryassessment component 922 has been removed, making the current state ofthe assessment item a multi-part item containing the first equationeditor assessment component 921 and the third ordering assessmentcomponent 923. FIG. 9N is a graphical presentation view of themulti-part item represented in FIG. 9M. FIG. 9O shows the markuplanguage generated by the assessment item generator 620 in response tothe input received via the interface of FIG. 9M. In the example ofQTI-compliant XML shown in FIG. 9O, it is noted that theresponseDeclaration elements, outcomeDeclaration elements, andresponseProcessing block (lines 47-69) has been revised similarly to theprevious examples to reflect the removal of the second text entryassessment component 922. It is also noted that the assessment itemgenerator has renamed certain attributes of these elements (e.g.,RESPONSE_A, RESPONSE_B, SCORE_A, SCORE_B) to correspond to a two-partrather than a three-part assessment item.

Referring now to FIG. 10, a flow diagram is shown illustrating a processof generating and embedding markup language data blocks corresponding toscoring data for assessment items. The techniques described below inreference to steps 1001-1006 may be similar or identical to thetechniques described above in reference to FIG. 7. Similar to the aboveexamples, FIG. 10 also describes receiving inputs via one or moreinterfaces corresponding to new assessment items to be generated and/orexisting assessment items to modified, determining the assessment itemadditions or modifications, and then generating and embedding thecorresponding markup language data blocks for the new or modifiedassessment items. Additionally, the steps in FIG. 10 also may beperformed by one or more components in the assessment item generatorsystem 600 described above. For example, each of the steps 1001-1006 maybe described below in terms of the assessment item generator 620.However, in other examples, some or all of the steps 1001-1006 describedbelow may be performed on the client side at one or more client devices610. In still other examples, certain features described below in may beperformed by an assessment item publisher 630 and/or assessment itemdata store 640. It should also be understood that the various featuresand processes described herein, including receiving scoring-relatedinput data via programmatic or graphical interfaces, and generatingmarkup language data corresponding to assessment item scoring data, neednot be limited to the specific systems and hardware implementationsdescribed above in FIGS. 1-6.

As noted above, FIGS. 10-11 relate to assessment item scoring.Specifically, FIGS. 10-11 illustrate the use of similar techniques tothose discussed above in order to determine compatible scoring types (orscoring methods), receive scoring data from client devices 610 viaprogrammatic or graphical interfaces, and generate markup language datablocks used to implement the scoring logic of assessment items. In someembodiments, assessment item generator systems 600 may includeassessment item scoring systems that dynamically assign scoring logic toan assessment item based on the assessment components within theassessment item. QTI, for example, may support the construction of auser response through the concept of modular interactions thatencapsulate assessment components (e.g., QTI interactions), such asmultiple choice assessment components, drag-and-drop activity assessmentcomponents, etc. As noted above, assessment items may include one ormore such assessment components. These assessment components may bemapped to scorable responses.

In some cases, the assessment item generator 620 may receive and processthe responses constructed by users during execution of assessment items,in order to generate an outcome, or an evaluation of the constructedresponse. The assessment components (e.g., QTI interactions) andresponse processing may be distinct elements that are abstracted fromone another, so that response processing may be loosely coupled andtemplated in a scoring template library 626. For example, a multiplechoice question with a correct answer or answers may be processed via auniform response processing template that maps to specific data in aninteraction and its response declarations. However, in some embodiments,certain assessment items can be scored in multiple different ways. Forexample, multi-part items may weigh the value of their parts the same ordifferently, and may or may not award partial credit. Interactions thatsupport complex responses to assessment items may require complex logicto process those responses. Additionally, in some cases, assessmentcomponents such as essay questions may require scoring by a human or anexternal service. In such cases, the response processing of theassessment item may indicate where and how the item should be routed forscoring.

In order to address the challenges of implementing scoring forassessment items, the assessment item generator 620 may be configured tocollect data regarding QTI interactions and serialize that data asQTI-compliant XML and JavaScript Object Notation (JSON). The assessmentitem generator 620 and/or client devices 610 also may maintain a dynamicscoring model, for example, using JavaScript to implement logic in theweb browser application that is responsible for assigning correctresponse processing to an assessment item, based on the current state ofthe item, the state of its interactions, and the user's score processingchoices. In such cases, when an item is updated, the scoring model maycheck the assessment item model for the number of interactions, thecorrect responses declared for those interactions, and the scoringapproaches the assessment item author/creator prefers. For example, agraphing assessment component might be scored by exact points set by thestudent, or by an equation that captures those points. The scoring modelmay access a number of response processing templates 626, which may beselected depending on assessment item conditions, and then populatedwith data specific to that item.

As noted above, certain assessment items with the same data may bescored in more than one way. Accordingly, the assessment item generatorsystem 600 may provide scoring interfaces (e.g., graphical interfaces11B, 11E, 11G, 11I, etc.) to allow users to view the current scoringtypes/templates chosen, and to adjust the overall scoring of theassessment item, for example, by choosing to award or not award partialcredit for a multi-part item. As described below, because the scoringmodel provided by the assessment item generator 620 may be dynamic, theuser may be presented only with those scoring choices that areappropriate for the current state of the assessment item.

In step 1001, the assessment item generator 620 may receive input from aclient device via an interface corresponding to modifications of anassessment item. The data received in step 1001 may be similar oridentical to the data received in steps 703 and/or 704, discussed above.For instance, a user may interact with a graphical interface orprogrammatic interface to contrast or modify an assessment item byadding a new assessment component, modifying an existing assessmentcomponent, removing an assessment component, changing the relationshipsbetween assessment components, and the like.

Additionally, as noted above, the process illustrated in FIG. 10 relatesto scoring of assessment items. Accordingly, the data received in step1001 potentially may include user identifications of the correctresponses for the various assessment components within an item. Whenconstructing assessment items, the content creators/authors may beresponsible for specifying the correct responses to questions and othertypes of assessment components. In some cases, correct responses may besingular correct responses, such as answer “A” for a multiple choiceassessment component. In other cases, multiple options may exist forspecifying a correct response. As an example, for a point graphassessment component, a content creator/author could choose between thefollowing to define a correct response: (a) a definition of the certainexact points that must be plotted by the user to receive credit for acorrect response, (b) a determination that any two points that create aline with a slope of a specified value receive credit for a correctresponse, or (c) a determination that any points that are true for aparticular equation will receive credit for a correct response.

Additionally if the user consuming the assessment item (e.g., atest-taker, evaluator, etc.), can select other options such whether theline is dotted or solid, then specifying which of these should have beenchosen by the test-taker will also be a part of the correct response.With a function graph assessment component type, it may be possible thatnot only should the points plotted be true for a certain equation butcertain other aspects of the graph must be correct, such as the midlineor asymptote, in order for the user to receive credit for a correctresponse.

In some embodiments, when multiple correct responses are possible for anassessment component, the data received in step 1001 may include alisting of each possible correct responses, or may specify logic bywhich responses should evaluated to determine whether they are correct.For instance a point graph assessment component may supportscore-by-slope and score-by-equation scoring types/methods forevaluating answers. As another example, a hot spot assessment componentmay support score-by-value-mapping for evaluating answers. In suchexamples, each hot spot may be mapped to a value, and the values for anyhot spots selected by the user are added up and compared to a sumprovided as the correct response.

For embodiments in which QTI-compliant XML is generated and stored torepresent assessment items, the correct response to assessmentcomponents (or QTI interactions) will generally be found inside theresponseDeclaration element, within an element named correctResponse.Multiple <value> nodes inside the correctResponse element may indicate aQTI interaction that has multiple components, such as a graphic gapmatch interaction with multiple draggers and multiple drop bays.Multiple responseDeclaration elements may indicate a multi-part item. Asdiscussed above in reference to FIGS. 7-9, multi-part items may identifydifferent parts within the QTI-compliant XML as “RESPONSE_A,”“RESPONSE_B,” . . . , “SCORE_A,” SCORE_B,” . . . , etc. In other cases,for an inline choice or text entry assessment item having multiplepulldown menus or blanks, the assessment item XML may include multipleresponseDeclaration elements with naming conventions of RESPONSE_A1,RESPONSE_A2, . . . , etc.

In step 1002, the assessment item generator 620 may determine one ormore compatible scoring types (or scoring methods) based on the datareceived in step 1001 and the current state of the assessmentcomponents. For example, certain types of assessment components (e.g.,specific QTI interaction classes) may have only a single valid scoringtype, while other assessment component types may have multiple potentialscoring types. Additionally, in some cases, certain scoring types suchas unequal weight scoring, no partial credit scoring, and the like, maybe compatible only with assessment items having multiple assessmentcomponents. Thus, for single-part assessment items, these scoring typesmay not be available. The following list of illustrative scoring typesand descriptions may, in some embodiment, correspond to thedetermination in step 1002 of compatible scoring types for assessmentitems. However, it should be understood that this list is illustrativeonly and non-limiting, and that different scoring types and differentcompatibility criteria for scoring types may be used in otherembodiments based on the scoring framework described herein.

Scoring Types

Item-Level Scoring Types

-   -   Equal Weight Scoring—In the Equal Weight Scoring Type (or        Method), the total number of points for the assessment item,        which defaults to 1 but can be changed by the user, is divided        equally between item parts (e.g., assessment components). Each        assessment component may use all-or-nothing scoring. An        assessment component may be defined as a QTI interaction, even        though that interaction may have multiple parts: multiple inline        choices, multiple draggers, multiple text entry blanks, etc. In        some embodiments, the Equal Weight Scoring Type may be default        scoring type (or method). It may apply to any combination of        interactions within a single assessment item.    -   1 Part Accuracy/1 Part Evidence—The 1 Part Accuracy/1 Part        Evidence scoring type may be compatible only with two        multiple-choice interactions within one item. This scoring type        may default to 2 total points. One point may be awarded for a        correct response to the first interaction. The second point may        be only awarded if the both parts are correct. No points may be        received for a correct response to the second interaction if the        first interaction is incorrect. The 1 Part Accuracy/1 Part        Evidence scoring type may be compatible with any of the        following types of assessment components within a two-part        assessment item: choice assessment components, gap match and gap        match table assessment components, graphic gap match assessment        components, hot spot assessment components, hot text assessment        components, inline choice assessment components, match        assessment components, match table assessment components, and        text extractor assessment components.    -   Unequal Weight Scoring—In the Unequal Weight Scoring type, the        total number of points for an assessment item may be distributed        unequally across assessment components (e.g., QTI interactions).        The total number of points may default to the total number of        assessment components, with one point initially assigned to each        assessment component. The user may change the number of points        associated with each part, which will in turn update the total        number of points for the assessment item.    -   No Partial Credit—In the No Partial Credit scoring type, the        total number of points may be changed by the user and all parts        of the multi-part assessment item must be answer correctly. If        any part is incorrect, then the user (e.g., test-taker) receives        no points.    -   1 Part TECR Grouping (2-pt partial credit)—In this scoring type,        when there is just one assessment components but it is an        assessment component that involves multiple selections as part        of a response (e.g., multiple draggers, multiple hot spots,        etc.), a partial credit model referred to as TECR may be used.        -   2 points awarded if all selections are correct        -   1 point awarded if at least half of the selections are            correct        -   0 points if less than half of the selections are correct    -   This scoring type may be applicable to the following assessment        component: Hot Spot (when scored by exact match), Gap Match, Gap        Match Table, Graphic Gap Match, Hot Text, Match, Match Table,        and Text Extractor.    -   1 Part TECR Constrained (2-pt partial credit)—This scoring type        implements scoring logic similar to the 1 Part TECR Grouping        scoring type, and is available for inline choice assessment        component when inline choice is the only assessment component        and it has more than one drop-down.        -   2 points awarded if the selections on all the drop-downs are            correct        -   1 point awarded if at least half of the selections on the            drop-downs are correct        -   0 points if less than half of the selections on the            drop-downs are correct    -   1 Part TECR Order (2-pt partial credit)—The scoring type is        applicable to the following assessment components: Gap Match or        Gap Match Table, Graphic Gap Match, Match, and Text Extractor.        When there is just one assessment component, but it is an        assessment component that may involve dragging multiple objects        (images or text) as part of a response, a partial credit model        referred to as TECR may be used to consider the spatial order of        the draggers in a response.        -   2 points awarded if all selections are correct        -   1 point awarded if more than half the selections are placed            in the correct order        -   0 points if less than half of the selections are placed in            the correct order    -   This scoring is applicable to the following item interactions:        Gap Match or Gap Match Table, Graphic Gap Match, Match, and Text        Extractor

Hot Spot Scoring Types

-   -   Exact Match—In the Exact Match Scoring Type, all-or-nothing        credit for an assessment component is based on whether the user        (e.g., test-taker) selects all hot spots that are indicated as        correct and no hot spots that are not indicated correct. Each        hot spot may have a checkbox used to indicate whether should be        considered a correct hot spot for scoring purposes.    -   Map to Value—In this scoring type, each hot spot may be mapped        to a value. Each hot spot can be mapped to the same value (and        an interface feature is provided to map all hot spots to the        same value, although those values can still be edited) or to        different values. The correct answer may be expressed as a sum.        In order for a test-taker to receive all-or-nothing credit for        this assessment component, the sum of the values for each        test-taker selected hot spot must equal a specific number. This        can be used when a total of 10 hot spots, all mapped to a value        of 1, must be selected but which ones are selected matters not.        In another scenario, with an assessment component where a        maximum of two hot spots may be selected and where there are        three pairs of hot spots that could be considered correct if        chosen together, then the correct response could be 10, with one        pair having values of 1 and 9, another 2 and 8, and a third 3        and 7.

Text Entry Scoring Types

-   -   All Text—In the All Test scoring type, text entry boxes within        the same assessment component may use different methods for        specifying the correct response, but all-or-nothing scoring is        used. If this is not desirable, assessment item authors may        include each text entry box in a separate assessment component.    -   Exact String Match—In this scoring type, in order for a user        (e.g., test-taker) response to be considered correct, what is        typed in the box must match the correct response character for        character.    -   Number—This scoring type for specifying the correct response may        be appropriate for use only when the character that may be typed        are restricted to numbers and basic math characters. The        presence of leading and trailing zeroes or an unnecessary        decimal points may be ignored. Additionally, the assessment item        author may choose whether commas, if used, are ignored or        whether they must be in the correct location in order to be        considered correct    -   Exhaustive List—In this scoring type, multiple responses can be        considered correct using the Exhaustive List option. Exhaustive        list may use Score by Number with commas ignored. Fraction bars        may be used to indicate a correct response.

Point Graph Scoring Types

-   -   All—In this scoring type, a point graph assessment component may        have multiple graphs with each being of a different type (e.g.,        point, continuous line, line segment, polygon, etc.). Each graph        may have its own correct response. The options available for        specifying the correct response may vary by graph type.        Additionally, if an assessment item author wants to provide an        option for toggling the line style between dotted and solid, the        author will need to specify which line style should be used for        a response to be considered correct.    -   Point—In this scoring type, the user (e.g., test-taker) must        plot each point specified and no additional points. This type of        scoring is available for point, line segment, and continuous        line.    -   Equation—In this scoring type, the points plotted by the user        (e.g., test-taker) must be true for a given equation. Three        pieces of information must be provided when creating a graph        assessment component that is scored by equation: (1) the        equation (2) the number of points that must be correctly plotted        to be considered correct (3) sample points. This type of scoring        is available for point, line segment, and continuous line.    -   Polygon—In this scoring type, the user (e.g., test-taker) must        plot each point specified as part of the correct response and no        additional points. Two pieces of information must be provided        when creating a polygon graphing interaction: (1) the points        that the test-taker must plot (2) whether the shape should be        open or closed.    -   Slope—In this scoring type, the line created by the two points        plotted by the user (e.g., test-taker) must have a slope that        matches the correct response. If fewer or more than two points        are plotted, then the item is considered incorrect, even if a        line is created from one pre-plotted point and a test-taker        plotted point with the connect-to-preplot option turned on. Two        pieces of information must be provided when creating a graph        assessment component to be scored by slope: (1) the slope (2)        sample points. This type of scoring is available for point, line        segment, and continuous line.

Bar Graph Scoring Types

-   -   Match—In this scoring type, bar graphs, with or without        clusters, may be scored based on whether the user (e.g.,        test-taker) placed the bar graph at a height that matches the        correct value for that bar. Uneditable bars do not have a        correct value associated with them.

Fraction Model Scoring Types

-   -   Exact Match—In this scoring type, for all-or-nothing credit,        each fraction model within the assessment component must be        divided into the number of segments indicated by the denominator        of the correct response. The number of selected segments must        equal the number indicated by the numerator of the correct        response. Uneditable fraction models do not have a correct        response associated with them.    -   Equivalent Fraction—In this scoring type, for all-or-nothing        credit, each fraction model within the assessment component must        represent a fraction that can be considered equivalent to the        correct response. Uneditable fraction models do not have a        correct response associated with them.

Function Graph Scoring Types

-   -   Equation—In this scoring type, function graphs are scored by        equation and by correct function type. Sample points must always        be provided. Some function types may require additional        information:        -   Exponential—requires the Asymptote Value        -   Tangent/Cotangent—requires Midline Value and Quarter Period            Value        -   Absolute Value—requires the x and y value of the Vertex            Point        -   Logarithmic—requires the Asymptote Value        -   Quadratic—requires the x and y value of the Vertex Point        -   Sine/Cosine—requires Midline Value and Quarter Period Value.

In step 1003, the assessment item generator 620 may provide anassessment item scoring interface based on the determination of thecompatible scoring types in step 1002. The provided assessment itemscoring interface may include graphical (e.g., web-based) and/orprogrammatic (e.g., APIs) interface components, which may be availableto users at client devices 610. Providing the interface to clientdevices 610 in step 1003 may be performed using similar or identicaltechniques as providing the interfaces to client devices 610 in steps703, 704, and 1001, described above. However, the interface componentsprovided in this step may be configured specifically to receive scoringdata, rather than selections and general modifications of assessmentcomponents, as described previously. For example, the assessment itemgenerator 620 may provide graphical and programmatic interfacesconfigure to illicit and receive scoring type selection, score valuesfor assessment components, relationships and scoring dependenciesbetween assessment components, and any other scoring data described inthe example scoring types above. Examples of graphical interfacesgenerated in accordance with some embodiments are shown in FIGS. 11B,11E, 11G, 11I, discussed in more detail below.

Additionally, in some cases, graphical or programmatic interfacesprovided to user devices 610 may include additional options for allowingusers to specify an amount of tolerance that should be exercised whenevaluating a response for correctness. For example, the correct answerto a fraction model assessment component may be ⅓, but additionalinformation must be provided in order to allow additional tolerance forequivalent fractions such 2/6 and 3/9 to be considered correct.Similarly, for a text entry assessment component, the correct responsemight be 2000, but additional instructions must be provided in order toconsider 2,000, 20,00, 2000/1, 02000, and 2000.00 as correct.Alternatively, the interface may allow users to specify that equivalentvalues (e.g., 2/6 rather then ⅓, or 2000.00 rather than 2000) should notbe credited as correct responses. These types of specialized rules andtolerances for considering a response to be correct are typically foundin the responseProcessing XML element.

In step 1004, the assessment item generator 620 may receive assessmentitem scoring data from the client device 610 via the interface providedin step 1003. The assessment item scoring data received in step 1004 maycorrespond to the interface components provided to the user in step1003. Examples of assessment item scoring data that may be received instep 1004 include user selections of one or more scoring types from aplurality of compatible scoring types, assignments of point values tovarious assessment components, and data specifying relationships andscoring dependencies between the various assessment components withinthe item.

In step 1005, the assessment item generator 620 may generate one or moredata objects corresponding to the scoring assessment item scoring datareceived in step 1004, and/or any scoring assessment item scoring datadetermined previously in step 1002. In some embodiments, the dataobjects generated in step 1005 may be markup language data blocks, forinstance, QTI-compliant XML blocks. The markup language encoding andgeneration techniques used by the assessment item generator 620 in step1005 may be similar or identical to those discussed above in referenceto step 705. However, the markup language generation process in step1005 may be used for scoring data for assessment items, rather than forgeneral assessment item data.

In embodiments in which QTI-compliant XML is generated, the assessmentitem scoring data may be stored within the assessment item XML encodingin one of four locations: the responseDeclaration XML blocks/elements,the outcomeDeclaration XML blocks/elements, the templateDeclaration XMLblocks/elements, and/or the responseProcessing XML blocks/elements.Accordingly, the markup language data block generation performed in step1005 may generally include constructing and/or modifying data blockscorresponding one or more of these four XML elements.

Referring now to FIGS. 11A-11K, several examples are shown of outputfrom assessment item generator 620 in connection with processes ofgenerating scoring data for assessment items. FIGS. 11A-11C show anexample of defining the scoring logic and/or scoring parameters for asingle-part assessment item via a graphical interface provided by anassessment item generator 620. FIG. 11A shows an example of a web-basedgraphical interface similar to the interface shown in FIGS. 8A and 9A.Similarly in this example, FIG. 11A includes a first interface region1110 having various selectable assessment component types, and a secondinterface region 1120 representing the assessment item. In this example,a single multiple choice assessment component 1121 has been added to thesecond interface region 1120, and thus the current state of theassessment item is a single-part item. FIG. 11B is a graphicalpresentation of an assessment item scoring interface generatedspecifically for the single-part item shown in FIG. 11A. Referring toFIG. 11B, based on the number of assessment components currently in theassessment item (i.e., 1), and based on type of the assessment component1121, only the Equal Weight Scoring type 1130 (or scoring method) isavailable for scoring the assessment item in its current state. Thus,the user may not select any other scoring type in this example, but maychange the point value for the assessment item in box 1131. FIG. 11Cshows the markup language generated by the assessment item generator 620in response to the input received via the interface of FIGS. 11A and11B. In the example of QTI-compliant XML shown in FIG. 11C, it is notedthat the assessment item generator 620 has constructed three separatemarkup language data blocks, a responseDeclaration XML element block, anoutcomeDeclaration XML element block, and a responseProcessing XMLelement block. These data blocks define, among other things, the correctresponse for the choice assessment component, and the point value forthe assessment item. As discussed below, these markup language datablocks may be embedded, together or separately, into one or moreQTI-compliant XML assessment items, in order to define and control thescoring logic and parameters for the assessment item.

FIGS. 11D-11F continue the example assessment item generation andscoring process of FIGS. 11A-11C, and show the addition of a secondassessment component to generate a multi-part assessment item. In FIG.11D, a second assessment component has been added to second interfaceregion 1120, making the current state of the assessment item amulti-part item containing the first multiple choice assessmentcomponent 1121 and a second text entry assessment component 1122. FIGS.11E, 11G, and 11I are graphical presentations of an assessment itemscoring interface generated specifically for the multi-part item shownin FIG. 11D. Referring to FIGS. 11E, 11G, and 11I, based on the numberof assessment components currently in the assessment item (i.e., 2), andbased on types of the assessment components 1121 and 1122, among otherfactors, three different scoring types are compatible with thisassessment item and available for selection by the user: the equalweight scoring type (FIG. 11E), the unequal weight scoring type (FIG.11G), and the no partial credit scoring type (FIG. 11I).

Referring to FIG. 11E, as discussed above, the selection of the equalweight scoring type 1132 will cause the assessment item generator 620 toset equal values for each of the assessment components currently withinthe assessment item. The user may also input/modify the total pointvalue for the assessment item using input box 1133, which will causeeach of the separate equal-value point boxes for the assessmentcomponents to be updated.

FIG. 11F shows the markup language generated by the assessment itemgenerator 620 in response to the input received via the interface ofFIGS. 11D and 11E. In the example of QTI-compliant XML shown in FIG.11F, it is noted that the assessment item generator 620 has constructedtwo separate markup language data blocks, an outcomeDeclaration XMLelement block and a responseProcessing XML element block. These datablocks define, among other things, the scoring logic and point valuesfor the multi-part assessment item. The markup language data blocks maybe embedded, together or separately, into one or more QTI-compliant XMLassessment items, in order to define and control the scoring logic andparameters for the assessment item

Referring to FIG. 11G, as discussed above, the selection of the unequalweight scoring type 1134 will cause the assessment item generator 620 toprovide an interface allowing users to set point values separately foreach of the assessment components using input boxes 1135. When the usermay updates the point value for either assessment component box 1135,the assessment item generator 620 will update the non-editable “Pointsfor Entire Item” field by summing the values of assessment componentboxes 1135.

FIG. 11H shows the markup language generated by the assessment itemgenerator 620 in response to the input received via the interface ofFIGS. 11D and 11G. In the example of QTI-compliant XML shown in FIG.11H, it is noted that the assessment item generator 620 has constructedtwo separate markup language data blocks, an outcomeDeclaration XMLelement block and a responseProcessing XML element block. These datablocks define, among other things, the scoring logic and point valuesfor the multi-part assessment item. The markup language data blocks maybe embedded, together or separately, into one or more QTI-compliant XMLassessment items, in order to define and control the scoring logic andparameters for the assessment item

Referring to FIG. 11I, as discussed above, the selection of the nopartial credit scoring type 1136 will cause the assessment itemgenerator 620 to enforce the requirement that the user (e.g.,tesk-taker) must answer all parts of the multi-part assessment itemcorrectly in order to receive the points in editable input box 1137.FIGS. 11J and 11K show the markup language generated by the assessmentitem generator 620 in response to the input received via the interfaceof FIGS. 11D and 11I. In the example of QTI-compliant XML shown in FIGS.11J and 11K, it is noted that the assessment item generator 620 hasconstructed three separate markup language data blocks, anoutcomeDeclaration XML element block, a templateDeclaration XML elementblock, and a responseProcessing XML element block. As in the previousexamples these data blocks may define, among other things, the scoringlogic and point values for the multi-part assessment item. The markuplanguage data blocks may be embedded, together or separately, into oneor more QTI-compliant XML assessment items, in order to define andcontrol the scoring logic and parameters for the assessment item

Finally, referring again to FIG. 10, in step 1006, the assessment itemgenerator 620 may embed the markup language data blocks encoding thescoring data, into the assessment item. Thus, step 1006 may be similaror identical to step 707, discussed above. In the examples shown inFIGS. 11C, 11F, 11H, and 11J-11K, the assessment item generator 620 mayembed the separate element blocks (e.g., outcomeDeclaration,templateDeclaration, and responseProcessing) separately and/or atdifferent portions within the assessment item. In some embodiments,steps similar to steps 708, 709, and/or 710 may be performed by theassessment item generator 620 and/or other components within the system,following the embedding of the scoring data encoding into the assessmentitem. For instance, after embedding the scoring data markup languageinto the assessment item, the assessment item generator 620 in someembodiments may be configured to perform additional validation and/orrevision steps on other affected elements within the QTI-compliant XML,or to save the updated assessment item to the assessment item data store640.

A number of variations and modifications of the disclosed embodimentscan also be used. Specific details are given in the above description toprovide a thorough understanding of the embodiments. However, it isunderstood that the embodiments may be practiced without these specificdetails. For example, well-known circuits, processes, algorithms,structures, and techniques may be shown without unnecessary detail inorder to avoid obscuring the embodiments.

Implementation of the techniques, blocks, steps and means describedabove may be done in various ways. For example, these techniques,blocks, steps and means may be implemented in hardware, software, or acombination thereof. For a hardware implementation, the processing unitsmay be implemented within one or more application specific integratedcircuits (ASICs), digital signal processors (DSPs), digital signalprocessing devices (DSPDs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), fieldprogrammable gate arrays (FPGAs), processors, controllers,micro-controllers, microprocessors, other electronic units designed toperform the functions described above, and/or a combination thereof.

Also, it is noted that the embodiments may be described as a processwhich is depicted as a flowchart, a flow diagram, a swim diagram, a dataflow diagram, a structure diagram, or a block diagram. Although adepiction may describe the operations as a sequential process, many ofthe operations can be performed in parallel or concurrently. Inaddition, the order of the operations may be re-arranged. A process isterminated when its operations are completed, but could have additionalsteps not included in the figure. A process may correspond to a method,a function, a procedure, a subroutine, a subprogram, etc. When a processcorresponds to a function, its termination corresponds to a return ofthe function to the calling function or the main function.

Furthermore, embodiments may be implemented by hardware, software,scripting languages, firmware, middleware, microcode, hardwaredescription languages, and/or any combination thereof. When implementedin software, firmware, middleware, scripting language, and/or microcode,the program code or code segments to perform the necessary tasks may bestored in a machine readable medium such as a storage medium. A codesegment or machine-executable instruction may represent a procedure, afunction, a subprogram, a program, a routine, a subroutine, a module, asoftware package, a script, a class, or any combination of instructions,data structures, and/or program statements. A code segment may becoupled to another code segment or a hardware circuit by passing and/orreceiving information, data, arguments, parameters, and/or memorycontents. Information, arguments, parameters, data, etc. may be passed,forwarded, or transmitted via any suitable means including memorysharing, message passing, token passing, network transmission, etc.

For a firmware and/or software implementation, the methodologies may beimplemented with modules (e.g., procedures, functions, and so on) thatperform the functions described herein. Any machine-readable mediumtangibly embodying instructions may be used in implementing themethodologies described herein. For example, software codes may bestored in a memory. Memory may be implemented within the processor orexternal to the processor. As used herein the term “memory” refers toany type of long term, short term, volatile, nonvolatile, or otherstorage medium and is not to be limited to any particular type of memoryor number of memories, or type of media upon which memory is stored.

Moreover, as disclosed herein, the term “storage medium” may representone or more memories for storing data, including read only memory (ROM),random access memory (RAM), magnetic RAM, core memory, magnetic diskstorage mediums, optical storage mediums, flash memory devices and/orother machine readable mediums for storing information. The term“machine-readable medium” includes, but is not limited to portable orfixed storage devices, optical storage devices, and/or various otherstorage mediums capable of storing that contain or carry instruction(s)and/or data.

While the principles of the disclosure have been described above inconnection with specific apparatuses and methods, it is to be clearlyunderstood that this description is made only by way of example and notas limitation on the scope of the disclosure.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of generating an assessment itemcomprising: receiving, by an assessment item generator, a request from aclient device to generate an assessment item; receiving, by theassessment item generator, first input from the client devicecorresponding to a selection of a first assessment component to beincluded within the assessment item; embedding, by the assessment itemgenerator, a first XML code block comprising XML code contentcorresponding to the selected first assessment component within a shellmarkup language data block corresponding to the assessment item to begenerated; receiving, by the assessment item generator, second inputfrom the client device corresponding to a selection of a secondassessment component to be included within the assessment item;generating, by the assessment item generator, a second XML code blockcomprising XML code content corresponding to the selected secondassessment component, wherein the second XML code block is generatedbased on the selected second assessment component; determining, by theassessment item generator, a relationship between the first and secondassessment components within the assessment item; embedding, by theassessment item generator, the second XML code block corresponding tothe second assessment component within the shell markup language datablock, wherein the embedding of the second XML code block is based onthe determined relationship between the first and second assessmentcomponents within the assessment item; revising, by the assessment itemgenerator, the first XML code block embedded within the shell markuplanguage data block, based on XML content of the second XML code blockembedded in the shell markup language data block; and storing, by theassessment item generator, data representing the assessment item,including the shell markup language data block with the embedded firstXML code block and the embedded second XML code block, into a datastore.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the received second inputcorresponding to the selection of the second assessment component to beincluded within the assessment item, specifies the relationship betweenthe first assessment component and the second assessment componentwithin the assessment item to be generated.
 3. The method of claim 2,wherein the received first input corresponds to the selection of amultiple choice assessment component, and wherein the received secondinput corresponds an option component within the multiple choiceassessment component.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein, after theembedding of the second XML code block within the shell markup languagedata block, the assessment item to be generated is a multi-partassessment item.
 5. The method of claim 1, further comprising: receivingthird input from the client device, the third input identifying one ofthe first assessment component or the second assessment component to beremoved from the assessment item; updating the shell markup languagedata block by removing either the first XML code block or the second XMLcode block, based on the assessment component identified within thethird input; and updating the shell markup language data block furtherby revising the one of the first XML code block or the second XML codeblock that was not removed from the shell markup language data block. 6.The method of claim 1, further comprising: receiving third input fromthe client device corresponding to a selection of a third assessmentcomponent to be included within the assessment item; generating a thirdXML code block corresponding to the selected third assessment component,wherein the generation of the third XML code block is based on the firstXML code block and the second XML code block; embedding the third XMLcode block within the shell markup language data block; revising thefirst XML code block embedded within the shell markup language datablock, based on the embedding of the third XML code block; and revisingthe second XML code block embedded within the shell markup language datablock, based on the embedding of the third XML code block.
 7. The methodof claim 1, wherein generating the first XML code block, and generatingthe second XML code block, each comprise generating extensible markuplanguage (XML) compliant with a Question & Test Interoperability (QTI)specification.
 8. The method of claim 1, further comprising: in responseto receiving the second input, validating the compatibility of theselected second assessment component with the selected first assessmentcomponent within the assessment item to be generated.
 9. The method ofclaim 1, wherein determining the relationship between the firstassessment component and the second assessment component comprisesdetermining that the second assessment component is to be embeddedwithin the first assessment component, and wherein embedding the secondXML code block comprises embedding the second XML code block within thefirst XML code block.
 10. The method of claim 1, wherein determining therelationship between the first assessment component and the secondassessment component comprises determining that the second assessmentcomponent is to be embedded before or after the first assessmentcomponent within the assessment item, and wherein embedding the secondXML code block comprises embedding the second XML code block within theshell markup language data block, before or after first XML code block,based on the determination that the second assessment component is to beembedded before or after the first assessment component within theassessment item.
 11. The method of claim 10, wherein the generation ofthe second XML code block, and the revision of the first XML code blockembedded within the shell markup language data block, are based on thedetermination that the second assessment component is to be embeddedbefore or after the first assessment component within the assessmentitem.
 12. The method of claim 11, wherein the selected first assessmentcomponent and the selected second assessment component each correspondto one or more of: a multiple choice assessment item component, a textinput assessment item component, a gap match assessment item component,a graph assessment item component, a slider assessment item component,or an equation editor assessment item component.
 13. An assessment itemgenerator system comprising: a processing unit comprising one or moreprocessors; and memory coupled with and readable by the processing unitand storing therein a set of instructions which, when executed by theprocessing unit, causes the assessment item generator system to: receivea request from a client device to generate an assessment item; receivefirst input from the client device corresponding to a selection of afirst assessment component to be included within the assessment item;embed a first XML code block comprising XML code content correspondingto the selected first assessment component within a shell markuplanguage data block corresponding to the assessment item to begenerated; receive second input from the client device corresponding toa selection of a second assessment component to be included within theassessment item; generate a second XML code block comprising XML codecontent corresponding to the selected second assessment component,wherein the second XML code block is generated based on the selectedsecond assessment component; determine a relationship between the firstand second assessment components within the assessment item; embed thesecond XML code block corresponding to the second assessment componentwithin the shell markup language data block, wherein the embedding ofthe second XML code block is based on the determined relationshipbetween the first and second assessment components within the assessmentitem; revise the first XML code block embedded within the shell markuplanguage data block, based on XML content of the second XML code blockembedded in the shell markup language data block; and store datarepresenting the assessment item to be generated, including the shellmarkup language data block with the embedded first XML code block andthe embedded second XML code block, into a data store.
 14. Theassessment item generator system of claim 13, the memory of theassessment item generator storing therein further instructions which,when executed by the processing unit, causes the assessment itemgenerator system to: receive third input from the client device, thethird input identifying one of the first assessment component or thesecond assessment component to be removed from the assessment item to begenerated; update the shell markup language data block by removingeither the first XML code block or the second XML code block, based onthe assessment component identified within the third input; and updatethe shell markup language data block further by revising the one of thefirst XML code block or the second XML code block that was not removedfrom the shell markup language data block.
 15. The assessment itemgenerator system of claim 13, the memory of the assessment itemgenerator storing therein further instructions which, when executed bythe processing unit, causes the assessment item generator system to:receive third input from the client device corresponding to a selectionof a third assessment component to be included with the first assessmentcomponent and the second assessment component within the assessmentitem; generate a third XML code block corresponding to the selectedthird assessment component, wherein the generation of the third XML codeblock is based on the first XML code block and the second XML codeblock; embed the third XML code block within the shell markup languagedata block; revise the first XML code block embedded within the shellmarkup language data block, based on the embedding of the third XML codeblock; and revise the second XML code block embedded within the shellmarkup language data block, based on the embedding of the third XML codeblock.
 16. The assessment item generator system of claim 13, the memoryof the assessment item generator storing therein further instructionswhich, when executed by the processing unit, causes the assessment itemgenerator system to: in response to receiving the second input, validatethe compatibility of the selected second assessment component with theselected first assessment component within the assessment item to begenerated.
 17. The assessment item generator system of claim 13, whereindetermining the relationship between the first assessment component andthe second assessment component comprises determining that the secondassessment component is to be embedded before or after the firstassessment component within the assessment item, and wherein embeddingthe second XML code block comprises embedding the second XML code blockwithin the shell markup language data block, before or after first XMLcode block, based on the determination that the second assessmentcomponent is to be embedded before or after the first assessmentcomponent within the assessment item.
 18. A computer-program producttangibly embodied in a non-transitory machine-readable storage medium,including instructions configured to cause one or more data processorsto perform actions including comprising: receiving a request from aclient device to generate an assessment item; receiving first input fromthe client device corresponding to a selection of a first assessmentcomponent to be included within the assessment item; embedding a firstXML code block comprising XML code content corresponding to the selectedfirst assessment component within a shell markup language data blockcorresponding to the assessment item to be generated; receiving secondinput from the client device corresponding to a selection of a secondassessment component to be included within the assessment item;generating a second XML code block comprising XML code contentcorresponding to the selected second assessment component, wherein thesecond XML code block is generated based on the selected secondassessment component; determining a relationship between the first andsecond assessment components within the assessment item; embedding thesecond XML code block corresponding to the second assessment componentwithin the shell markup language data block, wherein the embedding ofthe second XML code block is based on the determined relationshipbetween the first and second assessment components within the assessmentitem; revising the first XML code block embedded within the shell markuplanguage data block, based on XML content of the second XML code blockembedded in the shell markup language data block; and storing datarepresenting the assessment item, including the shell markup languagedata block with the embedded first XML code block and the embeddedsecond XML code block, into a data store.
 19. The computer-programproduct of claim 18, including further instructions configured to causethe one or more data processors to perform actions including: receivingthird input from the client device, the third input identifying one ofthe first assessment component or the second assessment component to beremoved from the assessment item to be generated; updating the shellmarkup language data block by removing the first XML code block or thesecond XML code block, based on the assessment component identifiedwithin the third input; and updating the shell markup language datablock by revising the one of the first XML code block or the second XMLcode block that was not removed from the shell markup language datablock.
 20. The computer-program product of claim 18, including furtherinstructions configured to cause the one or more data processors toperform actions including: receiving third input from the client devicecorresponding to a selection of a third assessment component to beincluded with the first assessment component and the second assessmentcomponent within the assessment item; generating a third XML code blockcorresponding to the selected third assessment component, wherein thegeneration of the third XML code block is based on the first XML codeblock and the second XML code block; embedding the third XML code blockwithin the shell markup language data block; revising the first XML codeblock embedded within the shell markup language data block, based on theembedding of the third XML code block; and revising the second XML codeblock embedded within the shell markup language data block, based on theembedding of the third XML code block.